Spodumene var. Hiddenite

Item Description

This crystallized rarity is a vivid burst of green color in a gem species that we rarely see. Hiddenite is a special kind of gem crystal, as it truly, in quality, only comes from one place (and one slice of time, now largely ended by the death of the mine owner who collected this piece). This is a truly outstanding thumbnail crystal of electric green Hiddenite, a Spodumene varietal with a bright green color caused specifically by a trace amount of chromium. Green Spodumene from other localities rarely approaches this color saturation and are often mislabeled as Hiddenite because they don't contain any chromium...like the commonly treated and mislabeled Spodumene crystals from Pakistan and Afghanistan! Those are simply spodumene. A real hiddenite must have location and chemistry, and generally only these North Carolina specimens have that. The Adams Farm is arguably the best, and one of few, legitimate Hiddenite localities; and good thumbnail specimens like this are rarely for sale. This came from the mine owner, Terry Ledford, from a modern discovery that was never repeated since. This 3.3 cm crystal is TOTALLY GEM from top to bottom with excellent luster! It is truly an amazing American specimen, but more importantly it is a significant example of a rare gem species varietal in unusually good quality. These specimens were cherry-picked from an amazing find of such crystals in the 1990s, the best such find in modern times. In checking that fact, I stumbled on this interesting information on MINDAT (https://www.mindat.org/min-7740.html): "The mineral variety Hiddenite was originally described from Alexander Co., North Carolina, USA. The area where Hiddenite was found was governed by county government and was then known as an informal settlement called "White Plains". The town name "Hiddenite" was not granted a charter until 1913, thirty years after the naming of the mineral variety hiddenite." It weighs just over 9 carats. Valued $2500-plus.