bab06
Babingtonite on Prehnite
Hongquizhen Quarry, Meigu Co., Liangshan, Sichuan Province, China
Small Cabinet, 7.7 x 6.3 x 4.0 cm
$2,850.00 Payment Plan Available
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A nearly solid mass of intergrown, tabular, black babingtonite, measuring up to 3.8 cm across is color contrasted against minor, botryoidal, green prehnite and colorless quartz crystals to 1.3 cm in length. The terminations are EXTREMELY well developed on this specimen and aesthetic in how they face the viewer). The crystals have a slight TWIST to them which is more obvious in person and which I find mesmerizing. The luster is naturally and remarkably high - and these were not cleaned with any fancy acids or chemicals to make them so. Of the specimens described thus far, this has the largest babingtonite crystals with perhaps the best aesthetics in combination. These extremely stark and dramatic crystals, the best one of which is so obviously freestanding and upright, sit on a beautiful floater matrix piece. The color contrast between the prehnite and the babingtonite is outstanding on this well-balanced specimen that stands so nicely on its own. This is a fantastic small cab sized specimen which would be worth probably $9-10k or so if it were it from the old US locales where a very similar association has formed - although I have never seen one quite of this magnitude from either the Lane Quarry, MA or CT locales they once came from. luster on these crystals is high, and the faces are all sharp and un-etched or discolored as with some babingtonite from this locality. These remarkable specimens, where even the mid-range material is better than the best of species EVER seen from anywhere else, come out of a very small, previously insignificant quarry that, according to Mindat.org, is simply worked by the local farmers.