A classic Spessartine Garnet and smoky quartz combination specimen from Tongbei, in Fujian Province of China (near where the famous Fujian teas come from!). These beautiful combination specimens once come out in abundance in the past, however it has slowed to a trickle the last few years and most of the mines in the region have shut down with only sparse modern production. This cabinet-sized piece features a dozen or so medium Smoky Quartz crystals with numerous, bright orange-red Spessartine Garnets attractively scattered around the base of the Quartz crystals. The Quartzes range in size from 1.5 to 7.5 cm, for the tallest one strategically placed in the middle of the specimen. They are all translucent to slightly transparent displaying a slightly satin luster. In contrast in terms of color and luster, the uniformly sized, 3 to 4 mm, Garnets have wonderful color, transparency and sparkly luster to them. There is also some highly contrasting, snow-white, clay altered Feldspar that shows through the Garnet and Quartz crystals in places and comprises the matrix on the underside of the piece. There is only some minor damage on the far left side of the piece and the large Quartz has a tiny ding near the tip, otherwise in excellent condition. This is a handsome and colorful piece from a locality that has dwindling Spessartine production.It would have come out in the late 1990s or early 2000s.