Andalusite (crystallized)

Item Description

It is not easy to get your hands on well-crystallized Andalusite from most localities around the world. The Jenipapo area has produced a small amount of fine crystallized Andalusite dating back to the early-mid 2000s. This thumbnail sized specimen is a sharp, well-formed, blocky, orthorhombic crystal of orange-pink Andalusite intergrown with minor Quartz free of matrix. The termination is in very good shape, but a couple of the prism faces are contacted, presumably where the grew against the pocket wall or another crystal of Andalusite. The piece might appear to be opaque on the surface, but with some backlighting, it actually shows a bit of translucency on the edges. It should be noted that Andalusite is somewhat pleochroic, and when this piece is rotated in the light, you can see a slight color change from the pinkish hue to a soft greenish-yellow tone. A nice opportunity for a collector to pick up a good crystallized Andalusite, especially when you just don't see actual CRYSTALS of Andalusite like this on the market.