Clinozoisite (RARE locality specimen)

Item Description

Clinozoisite is part of the Epidote Group and actually forms a series with Epidote chemically, as it is the aluminum analogue. Over the years, there have been a few prominent localities in Peru that produced excellent Epidote specimens, but Clinozoisite was almost never reported. Back in 2017 there was a small discovery at Cerro San Cristobal in the Lima Department of Peru that yielded what I feel might be the finest Clinozoisite specimens from any locality in the entire country. This piece is a showy and fine quality example featuring sharp, well-formed, prismatic crystals which range in color from a translucent golden hue on the terminations to a darker brown-green color at the base. The largest crystal measures 1.6 cm. Most of the crystals are undamaged, though the periphery of the piece is contacted where the specimen was removed from the pocket wall. Still a good example of this elusive material. The entry on mindat.org states that, "The specific zone from which these specimens were recovered is apparently exhausted", so we may never see them again. If you missed out on these when they first hit the market and you're looking for a nice one for your collection, don't pass this one up.