CH17-18
Calcite (twin) var. Manganoan (fluor.)
Huanggang Mines, Hexigten Banner, Inner Mongolia A.R. China
Small Cabinet, 9.0 x 9.0 x 3.2 cm
$7,500.00 Payment Plan Available
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Butterfly-twinned calcites of this quality are known from only a few places in the world, and now China enters the game with this find from the Huanggang Mines: Slightly flattened, this "butterfly" twin of manganese-rich pink calcite has good luster and a satiny translucence. It has a gemmy interior under what seems to be a second outer layer of growth. The color throughout the specimen is, in total, a lovely pastel pink. This calcite twin also glows a bright orange under fluorescent light, as a bonus to those who check it. I bought many twins from this pocket, in 2016, but this was one of the best and one of the very few that gives an illusion of being on matrix. Nearly all were floaters with pointy bottoms, or had broken bottoms, whereas this has a little sidecar growth at the base, and a full termination, that give a look of massive calcite matrix to the base even though it is fully crystallized and an extension, I think, of the main crystal itself. In any case, a remarkable twinned calcite specimen from a surprising new entry into the twin calcite localities!