Calcite ("bladed spar") (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

A gorgeous old-time Calcite from Charcas that is loaded with sharp, thin "blades" (highly compressed scalenohedral prisms with broad pinacoid faces) measuring up to 3.4 cm across free of matrix. The color ranges from a chalky white in the center to a beige-brown on the edges. Most of the crystals are complete and undamaged, but there is a slight bit of edge wear here and there. This particular style of Calcite is not terribly common from Charcas, and this piece dates back about 50 years give or take. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#7778). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017).