Charoite (1.1 kilo superb slice)

Item Description

This significant museum-level lapidary specimen is a huge example of an old find from Russia, much of which came out in the 1990s. I have not seen such a large, fine piece as this in many years - and it is without repairs. This is a large, polished slab of choice, intense purple Charoite that hosts other minerals mixed in with it, including several fine crystals of orange Tinaksite within. Charoite is a rare gem, most well-known from the Chara River location (the type locality, from which this also comes) in Eastern Siberia, Russia, which is where the species gets its name. The Tinaksite crystals range in size up to 1.4 cm. The Tinaksite has an orange color and some marked gemminess - much more so than the pictures show. There are also numerous black to very dark green crystals of Aegirine in association, an unidentified green microcrystalline species folded into the natural edge of the Charoite, and possibly other unidentified species as well. The Charoite itself is of high quality for carving and jewelry, which is why so few large plates like this survived: It has a stunning, swirling chatoyant pattern of intense purple that is simply magnificent in person. This is a colorful showpiece that can be seen from across a room, a wonderful color accent in a shelf for display of a mineral collection or a museum-sized display piece for a place of honor in its own right. These are generally valued by the GRAM...this is 1171 grams, a single piece of lapidary grade, carving quality charoite over a kilogram! This material is relatively new to the market as it was only introduced to the west in 1978, where many other gems have been known for thousands of years.