Berthierite (rare)

Item Description

Berthierite is a rare iron antimony sulfosalt and not often found in good crystallized specimens. In 1827 the species was named after Pierre Berthier a chemist from France, and mineralogist at the Ecole des Mines. This piece is from the classic locality at Vlastejovice, featuring dozens of acicular, silvery-grey thin needles of Berthierite mixed into the host rock matrix. There are literally hundreds of crystals on this piece, though most of them are small and you would need a loupe to see them well.