Berthierite (rare historic specimen)

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 Braunsdorf in the famous Freiberg District featuring 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. They also show a beautiful iridescent (purple, blue and green) sheen that is indicative of this old time material. The piece comes with an historic label from noted mineral dealer, Hugh A. Ford. Since the label has Ford's New York address, it dates to 1946-1957, so we know the piece is at least 60 years