Väyrynenite (very rare) (ex Obodda)

Item Description

Shengus has produced some iconic mineral specimens over the last 25 years or so. It is probably best known for its amazing blood red Spessartine Garnets, but it has also produced some fine crystallized specimens of the rare phosphate Väyrynenite. This species is not often seen in excellent crystallized examples such as this as it features many very sharp, rather lustrous, prismatic, richly colored crystals measuring up to 2.5 cm long in semi-parallel growth on matrix. The color ranges from a dark brownish-red to a pinkish-orange in areas, and is best seen with backlighting. It is not common to find matrix specimens of Väyrynenite from this locality, let alone a multitude of high quality crystals on matrix like this. Additionally, one rarely seen Väyrynenite crystals from Shengus with such well-formed, sharp, lustrous faces as they are typically etched, loose partial crystals - essentially pieces of gem rough. While some of the terminations on the smaller crystals are complete, the larger crystals are either contacted on their terminations, or grew into the pocket wall and never fully crystallized. With that said, it's still an impressive and rarely seen matrix specimen of this rare mineral that is typically found in less than desirable specimens. Now it should be noted that the label accompanying this specimen states that it is associated with Rutile. I cannot find any crystals that truly look like Rutile, I think they're just dark brown Väyrynenite crystals, and mindat does not report the species from Shengus, so I'm marking this up to a minor identification error. The piece comes from the inventory of Herb Obodda who travelled to Pakistan for many years to obtain specimens in person and bring them back to the western market. Valued at $900.