Andalusite (GEMMY) (ex Richard A. Kosnar Collection)

Item Description

A wonderful old time specimen 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, the crystal is not 100% complete, but it still shows lustrous crystal faces on a couple sides. The transparency combined with the beautiful color makes for a very attractive thumbnail 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 2.38 grams. From the collection of Richard A. Kosnar, well-known mineral dealer and collector from Colorado, and the namesake for the phosphate species Kosnarite.