Bastnasite-(Ce) (rare near "floater" group) (ex Obodda)

Item Description

Before the specimens from Zagi Mountain hit the market about 20 years ago, the famous Trimouns Quarry in France was probably the best known locality for Bastnasite-(Ce) in the world. These specimens have truly redefined the species in terms of size and quality of crystals. It's quite impressive that crystals of this size would actually be translucent and pleasantly colored. This miniature display is a VERY hard to find GROUP of thick, tabular, hexagonal, crystals of slightly translucent, rich caramel-honey-orange colored doubly-terminated crystals of Bastnasite-(Ce) with sharp faces aesthetically intergrown. It's hard enough to find a single crystal of this material, let alone a CLUSTER of crystals like this! The piece has a few tiny imperfections, but it's nearly crystallized all the way around, which means it's almost a complete "floater". It's clear to see that this locality has produced less and less of these outstanding specimens over the last several years, and if you missed out on one, this a great opportunity to snag a fantastic rarely seen crystal group for a great price. These crystals are superb for what they are. It should be noted that is quite difficult to obtain pieces of a rare species with such good sized, colorful and slightly gemmy crystals like this. Formerly in the stock of dealer Herb Obodda. Valued at $1,200.