Albite (rare GEM PURPLE crystals!)

Khyber Agency, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Miniature, 4.9 x 3.3 x 2.7 cm
Start Time: 03/03/2022 9:00:00 pm (CST)
End Time: 03/10/2022 7:30:00 pm (CST)
Auction Closed
Winning Bid: $376

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 fairly thick 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 miniature display specimen features many sharp, lustrous, GEM QUALITY to translucent, RARE PURPLE COLOR (though more of a softer lilac hue to be fair), crystals of Albite measuring up to 1.2 cm long on matrix. Some of the smaller Albites have more of a white color, but the bigger important crystals all have that rare purplish hue. 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 this is the LAST ONE WE HAVE TO OFFER.

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Bidding History

Bid Amount Bid Time
$376 03/10/2022 7:23:23 pm (CST)
$366 03/10/2022 7:23:23 pm (CST)
$356 03/10/2022 7:19:18 pm (CST)
$346 03/10/2022 7:17:44 pm (CST)
$336 03/10/2022 7:14:09 pm (CST)
$330 03/10/2022 7:14:09 pm (CST)
$306 03/10/2022 7:10:05 pm (CST)
$296 03/10/2022 7:10:05 pm (CST)
$286 03/10/2022 7:09:55 pm (CST)
$276 03/10/2022 7:09:55 pm (CST)
$266 03/10/2022 7:08:57 pm (CST)
$256 03/10/2022 7:08:57 pm (CST)
$246 03/10/2022 7:05:25 pm (CST)
$236 03/10/2022 7:03:17 pm (CST)
$226 03/10/2022 6:59:35 pm (CST)
$216 03/10/2022 6:54:53 pm (CST)
$206 03/10/2022 6:46:45 pm (CST)
$196 03/10/2022 6:45:56 pm (CST)
$186 03/10/2022 6:44:33 pm (CST)
$176 03/10/2022 6:44:33 pm (CST)
$166 03/10/2022 5:26:04 pm (CST)
$156 03/10/2022 5:26:04 pm (CST)
$150 03/10/2022 4:29:37 pm (CST)
$140 03/10/2022 4:29:13 pm (CST)
$136 03/10/2022 4:29:13 pm (CST)
$121 03/10/2022 4:05:11 pm (CST)
$111 03/06/2022 4:25:25 pm (CST)
$101 * 03/06/2022 4:25:11 pm (CST)
$101 * 03/06/2022 4:25:11 pm (CST)
$86 03/06/2022 4:24:42 pm (CST)
$76 03/06/2022 4:24:42 pm (CST)
$61 03/06/2022 4:24:30 pm (CST)
$51 03/06/2022 4:24:30 pm (CST)
$41 03/06/2022 4:24:18 pm (CST)
$36 03/06/2022 4:24:18 pm (CST)
$25 03/06/2022 11:11:56 am (CST)
$20 03/06/2022 11:11:56 am (CST)
$15 03/06/2022 2:04:06 am (CST)
$10 03/05/2022 10:29:12 pm (CST)
* Proxy Bid Battle: In the event of two customers inputting matching proxy bids, the leading bid goes to the earliest of the two proxy bids. Tie winners are shown in bold.