Albite (rare GEM PURPLE crystals!)

Item Description

This piece is from a very limited discovery in 2013, where the specimens hit the market and almost immediately disappeared. To this day, nobody has been able to give us a truly specific locality where they were found. There was one report that they were found at a place called Taitara (Tatara), while another mentions Mulla Ghori, but for now we've left them labeled as coming from Khyber Agency, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. With that said, these are some of the most impressive examples of this abundant and well-known feldspar species ever found, and that's saying something considering that Albite has been reported from thousands of localities around the world. The three most significant aspects of these crystals is that they are notably thick (not thin blades) along with being incredibly gemmy(!), but what really catches one's attention is the fact that they are PURPLE in color! I've seen transparent Albite blades from Brazil, but they were colorless. I've seen thick Albite crystals from plenty of localities, but they were always opaque and a chalky white hue. The fact that these crystals from Pakistan show such superb quality, gemminess and color is truly mind-blowing. This small cabinet display specimen features many sharp, lustrous, GEM QUALITY to translucent, RARE PURPLE COLOR, prismatic crystals of Albite measuring up to 2.6 cm long which are partially included and associated with an unknown dark green mineral (possibly a Pyroxene like Augite) on matrix. Some of the smaller Albits have more of a white color, but the big important crystals all have that crazy purple color. Most of the crystals are in good shape, but there are some rough spots here and there, which to me is perfectly forgivable considering the supreme quality and exceptionally beautiful and elusive color. The piece shows glowing electric fuchsia fluorescence under UV light. If you collect gem crystals, Feldspar species or minerals from Pakistan, do NOT miss out on this one as you can't get them on the market anymore. We found a small stash of a few of these specimens in our storage, and once they're gone, that's it. Priced at $1,750 in the inventory.