Andalusite (ex Henry de Linde Collection)

Item Description

This is a lovely piece of Andalusite from Brazil with excellent internal gemminess. Typically, most Andalusite crystals are opaque, but this one is of a higher gem grade than most I've seen from Brazil. To be fair, it's a partial crystal, as it's contacted in areas, but the transparency combined with the beautiful color makes for a very attractive toenail sized specimen. The color is mostly a yellow-green hue, but when it's rotated in the light, the piece does show a bit of weak pleochroism showing soft pink tones. This kind of color is what makes Andalusite so popular with gemstone collectors, as a well-cut stone will show both green and pink highlights face up. Specimen weight is 3.28 grams. From the collection of Henry de Linde (March 21, 1923 – April 4, 2019) of Hot Spring, Arkansas. Henry was one of the most prominent figures in the history of Arkansas mining and mineral collecting. Along with being a miner, mineral collector and an amateur mineralogist, de Linde was one of the founders of the Coon Creek Association mineral club. He was the owner of several key localities in Arkansas including the Diamond Jo Quarry (on the south rim of Magnet Cove), the type locality for Delindeite, which was named in his honor in 1987.