Lawsonite Var. Chromian (rare find!)

Item Description

Crystals of lustrous, dark green chromium rich lawsonite, to 1.7 cm across, are festooned on both sides of the host matrix. Several crystals appear to be doubly terminated. A remarkable new find from the Tucson 2012 show, of green lawsonite crystals (the color induced by chromium), in contrasting matrix with thin veins of purple glaucophane and white mica (The silvery white mica is rather paragonite, the Na equivalent of K-muscovite.) .These are lustrous, deep green crystals of chromium-rich lawsonite, which is a very uncommon silicate found in good crystals at only a few locales wordlwide. And, never have we seen them with such color! This is from a small find, but it is unclear exactly when it was found and leaked out to the market (perhaps around 2010). This is a classic and rare association of sodic amphiboles characteristic of high-pressure settings of formation.