Calcite (fluorescent)

Item Description

Calcites from Taff’s Well Quarry, in Cardiff, Wales, grow in several different habits, and virtually all of them have a very distinctive growth pattern to them. This fine, small cabinet piece features a 4.2 cm, DOUBLY-TERMINATED Calcite scalenohedron with the aforementioned parallel (stepped) growth along the faces that is classic for Taff's Well. The Calcite sits as perfectly upright on the matrix as you could possibly want. Adding to the outstanding aesthetic is the fact that the lower half of the crystal is tinted by Hematite, common for the locality, and the upper termination becomes frosty white, as if a snow-covered peak. The contact along the back (note: adjacent to, but not part of the main crystal) also reveals that the earliest Calcite growth has a strong white fluorescence, an unusual color for Calcite. With such excellent visual balance and characteristics, this is a superb Calcite specimen for Taff's Well Quarry, in every respect. Recently deaccessed from the Tim Sherburn collection.