Hydroxyapophyllite-(K) (fantastic ''floater'' specimen) (ex Bob Nowakowski Collection)

Item Description

This is one of the coolest Apophyllite specimens I've seen from any locality. The famous Wessels Mine is well-known for producing beautiful, colorful mineral specimens, many of which are manganese-bearing minerals, but this particular specimen is a rarely seen Hydroxyapophyllite-(K), and it's certainly unique compared to anything else I've seen from the locality. The piece is a large composite group of sharp, well-formed, lustrous, translucent, slightly "smoky-peach" colored blocky (pseudocubic) crystals, but the kicker is that the piece is crystallized on all sides, with no point of attchment, so it's a complete "floater" to boot! There are a few small "rubs" here and there, so the piece is not 100% pristine, but it's still a remarkable and showy example of this elusive material. The focal point of the specimen is the large central crystal, from which all the others seems to have grown. This main crystal measures 5.7 cm on edge, and is notably larger than any of the other crystals, which makes me wonder if there were two different generations of deposition, and the smaller crystals grew on the larger one after it had already formed. The piece truly looks better in person, but if you collect minerals of South Africa or just fine minerals, this is a really impressive and unusual specimen unlike anything I've seen from this prestigious mine. From the collection of Robert (Bob) Nowakowski, whose collection number RN303 is hand-painted on the back. This piece is priced at $5,000 in our inventory for it size, quality and uniqueness.