Analcime pseudomorph after Hackmanite (rare) (ex Van Tichelen Collection)

Item Description

Mount Saint-Hilaire is one of the world's most significant localities, and produces many "best in the world" specimens of a lot of minerals. This piece is a really interesting, unusual and RARE specimen featuring white trapezohedral crystals of Analcime, but if you look closely, you'll see that the Analcime has formed pseudomorphs after preexisting crystals of Hackmanite (Sodalite). If you look at the base of the piece, you can see just a tiny bit of the remaining blue Hackmanite near the periphery. I honestly don't know if there are more pieces of this particular material, as this is the ONLY specimen I've seen featuring Analcime after Hackmanite! It's specimens like this that make Mount Saint-Hilaire such a beloved locality for collectors. I'm told that collecting at the quarry is now forbidden by new ownership, so specimens will be nearly impossible to obtain unless they come from old collections. From the collection of Wouter Van Tichelen (#20101004).