EPIDOTE. ...

Description

EPIDOTE
Tormiq Valley, Haramosh Mountains, Skardu District, Baltistan, Northern Areas, Pakistan
Up until the last ten years or so the Epidote specimens from the Untersulzbachtal in Austria went unchallenged as the finest in the world. Since that time, an occasional crystal group would escape from the remote Haramosh Mountains of Baltistan that is easily the equal of the Austrian material. The form is almost identical with the individual crystals arranged in planar sub-parallel groups. The luster is glassy, just like the Austrian material, and the crystals are transparent, showing pronounced pleochroism: changing from olive green when illuminated along one direction to a root-beer brown color along another. There are a few broken crystals among the myriad making up the group but they are all minor in nature and somewhat difficult to locate without close inspection. Since the exhaustion of the Austrian locality, all of the better examples of this desirable mineral come from this part of the world. In excellent condition, it measures 7 ½ x 4 ½ x 1 ½ inches. There are two custom labeled bases to allow different display options.

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