Mica / Sericite pseudomorph after Cordierite-Indialite ("Cherry Blossom") (RARE MATRIX piece)

Item Description

Here we have a wonderful and notably hard to find specimen of the famous yet elusive "cherry blossom" pseudomorphs from Kameoka City. To the best of my knowledge, these specimens are unique in the fact that they are replacements / pseudomorphs featuring silvery-golden Muscovite Mica (variety "Sericite") after trapiche habit Cordierite-Indialite. This is the only place in the world where this specific pseudomorph is found. Cordierite and Indialite are dimorphous species, Indialite forms at higher temperatures, which is exhibited in the form of the thin dark hexagonal lines forming the "spokes" of the pseudomorphs, and they eventually cooled down to a lower temperature and became the lighter colored tan Cordierite throughout. This phenomenon creates a very beautiful pattern, which is rather similar to the famous "Trapiche" Habit seen in minerals like Corundum, Beryl and Tourmaline. This shape is sometimes locally referred to as "sakura ishi" (cherry blossom stones) because they resemble the famous Japanese cherry blossoms. Now the name of this material has a bit of a confusing history, because it was originally described by Kikuchi as "Cerasite" which was the name for the trapiche habit of Cordierite, which possibly coincidentally lead to confusion about the origin of the name Sericite. These pieces are well-known from Japan, but rarely seen on the market, and collecting has been forbidden in the area to the best of my knowledge. The majority of these specimens measure about 5 - 6 mm in diameter, and are almost found as singles which weather out of hornfels typically, which means they are RARELY seen on matrix. THIS PIECE however is an exceptionally hard to find MATRIX specimen of this classic material, featuring a pair of very well-formed pseudomorphs - with sharp defined lines - measuring up to 5 mm across on matrix. It's incredibly rare to find such well-formed pseudomorphs like this ON MATRIX, and if you collect Japanese minerals or rare pseudomorphs, or just odd niche specimens, you can't afford to miss out on this one.