Pezzottaite (very rare)

Item Description

Pezzottaite is a rare Cesium-rich member of the Beryl group. It is named after Dr. Federico Pezzotta of Milan, Italy and was approved by the IMA in September 2003. This specimen is from the type locality at Sakavalana, Madagascar. Pezzottaite crystals are a beautiful, vibrant, pink color, and this piece is no exception with a predominant attractive, well formed, hexagonal rich pink crystal with several smaller secondary crystals on contrasting black Schorl matrix with accenting Albite. The crystals are small, and I have photographed them under the microcope to better illustrate their quality. This is definitely one of the most beautiful and highly publicized new minerals in the last several years. This material is now virtually mined out and there may never be any more specimens from Madagascar again. The gem value of this material has gone through the roof over the last few years, and with the supply of good matrix Pezzottaite specimens dwindling, these certainly have gone up in value.