PHEN09-01
Phenakite
Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria
Miniature, 4.4 x 2.9 x 2.3 cm
SOLD
At 40 grams, this is one of the larger specimens recovered.It is a floater, complete all around and pristine save one small ding on a side face (hard to see). It was the best specimen overall in the lot which showed up in Denver of 2009 (several kilos in total, representing about half the total find which was divided to send to Thailand for cutting; and to the show as well). This crystal has a very 3-dimensional structure to it, and is more well-crystallized than most others here. It looks for all the world like a completely colorless spessartine garnet from Brazil, with those complex striations and patterning prominent around the whole specimen. In person, this glows with brilliant light bouncing in and out of the crystal off all the myriad of faces. It is absolutely colorless, a pure colorlessness that is startling in its utter lack of any impurity which adds some coloration to most minerals.