Serpierite

Item Description

Serpierite was named in 1881 after Giovanni Battista Serpieri who was an Italian mining entrepreneur, and a developer of mines in the Lavrion District, Attiki, Greece. This hydrated calcium copper zinc sulfate is actually part of the Devilline Group, and is the Ca-analogue of Aldridgeite. This piece is from the type locality for the species and comes from an old East Coast collection. Beautiful blue, acicular, radiating crystals of Serpierite can be seen all over the specimen, but make no mistake, this is a micro specimen, and is best seen under magnification. We have photographed the piece with a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality.