Valentinite (beautiful color - 2012 find)

Item Description

There was a very limited discovery of this material in April / early May of 2012 near the famous Xikuangshan fields, and nothing else was ever found. Valentinite is a species that is not often associated with colorful examples, but for sheer beauty, these unusual radial groups stand out dramatically. The species has a simplistic chemistry (Sb2O3), and in most cases the crystals are either grey, colorless or white. These fairly new Chinese specimens feature acicular Valentinite crystals in a radiating "ball"-habit with a gorgeous yellow color. They almost have a semi-velvety luster to them as well. This miniature sized specimen features several groups of wonderful yellow colored Valentinite crystals forming attractive "sprays" or "balls" measuring up to 6 mm across on Quartz matrix. Most of the groups are undamaged as you can see from the photo. VERY FEW were available, and it's doubtful that more will be found. Priced at $950 in the inventory.