TEKTITE - MOLDAVITE FROM LOCENICE. ...

Description

TEKTITE - MOLDAVITE FROM LOCENICE
Moldau River Valley, Czech Republic
Arguably the most beautiful of all tektites, moldavite is found in the Moldau River Valley in the Czech Republic. Moldavites were created nearly 15 million years ago by the asteroid impact that created the 14.5 mile diameter Nördlinger-Ries crater near Stuttgart, Germany. Revered as a talisman by Paleolithic humans, worn as pendants in the Middle Ages, delivered by men to their fiancées in the 17th-19th centuries to assure harmony in their marital relations, moldavite is often cut into gemstones, and uncut specimens are found in museum and private collections throughout the world. Prized for its clarity, shape and green color, moldavite's character is substantially determined by the chemistry of the soil in which it landed: a bluff across a road can provide a markedly different sample than one found in a fallow 100 yards away. Thus, moldavite is identified by the village near which it was found, and grooves and crenellations abound in this fine example of Locenice (Low-che-NEE-che) moldavite. The hues, which range from emerald to tourmaline, result from the variations of the specimen's density in this exquisite natural glass form. 58 x 21 x 12 mm and 22.9 grams.

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