Barite (classic material)

Item Description

The famous Book Cliffs area in western Colorado is the source of some outstanding quality crystals of Barite which represent some of the finest examples of the species from Colorado or many other U.S. localities. This beautiful small cabinet specimen hosts a pair of VERY gemmy, sharp, well-formed colorless orthorhombic prisms of Barite free of matrix making for a wonderful display piece. Most people don't realize that only a small percentage of the Barites from this locality reach this quality or size. I love how the "chisel"-shaped terminations are smooth and WATER CLEAR, and then the prism faces transition into a slightly etched pattern on the surface. These well-known Barite crystals form inside of Mancos Shale concretions, which have to be cracked open to expose the crystals inside. Most of these concretions do not host Barite crystals (let alone fine quality crystals like this), and water-clear specimens are not common on the market these days. This piece was mined in the late 1970s. Priced in the inventory at $1,350.