Diopside (New Find - 2021)

Item Description

This piece hails from a new discovery In July 2021 which produced some beautiful and impressive Diopside specimens from the Janduk Mine, near the famous locality Ladjuar Medam, Afghanistan. This area is best known for producing world class specimens of Lazurite (Lapis), Sodalite, Richterite and Afghanite among other things. The Diopside crystals found around this area form in the same marble as the other minerals, which is often etched away to expose the crystals within. This piece is a good example of these exciting and colorful specimens featuring several a 2.2 cm, blocky, prismatic, beautiful lime green colored, fairly sharp and well-formed crystal along minor dark brown Phlogopite Mica on white marble matrix. One corner of the Diopside crystal is actually a bit gemmy, which you don't often see in these piece. The piece is in good shape overall, though there is some areas of incomplete crystal growth around the base where the marble has been etched away. The main Diopside crystal isn't damaged, but some of the smaller ones just didn't have enough space to fully crystallized inside the marble. I've seen a few of these pieces labeled as "Lavrovite", which is a vanadium-bearing variety of Diopside, but we have not had these pieces analyzed to know whether or not they contain vanadium. I will say that there is probably some kind of chromophore in these Diopside crystals (possibly something like vanadium or chromium), because they are a brighter green than you'd typically find in the species, as a lot of Diopside from around the world is a much darker green typically. If you collect Pyroxene minerals, specimens from Afghanistan, or if you're a fan of species from marble deposits, this is a great chance to pick up one these attractive and worthwhile Diopsides from this recent discovery. Valued around $500-$700 retail.