Epidote (''Faden'')

Item Description

There are a few minerals that are known for form in "Faden" groups. The term "Faden" comes from the German word for "string", as the crystal groups show thin internal fibrous thread lines. Epidote is one of those mineral that is known to form in "Faden"-shaped groups. Going back to the mid to late 1990s, we saw many good quality specimens of this material on the market, but it has become increasingly rare to find excellent specimens such as this from Tormiq. The Pakistani specimens are seemingly identical to their classic European Alpine counterparts, and an argument can be made that in certain instances, the European specimens have been surpassed with regard to overall quality and gemminess. This specimen is an aesthetic, multi-terminated, sharp, lustrous "Faden" crystal group featuring olive oil green to golden colored (pleochroic) "sword"-shaped crystals free of matrix. Some of the crystals are fairly gemmy when backlit. The piece is in very good shape, only a few broken crystals can be seen, and looks fantastic from either side. You just don't see pieces like this on the market now, and if you consider that most Epidote crystals around the world are "black" and opaque, this piece is in the upper tier in terms of quality for the species.
From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #019078CL, and the catalogue entry for the piece states that it was exported from China and imported into the United States by The Rocksmiths, and was purchased by Chet on February 8, 2001 (TGMS Show). Chet was born 1947 in started collecting minerals circa 1957. He worked briefly as a drill runner at the famous Sterling Mine, in Ogdensburg, New Jersey and from 1987 to 1990 he helped convert the mine into a public access mining museum. He has held the role of treasurer, vice president and president of the Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society (FOMS), and has been a board member and vice president of the Franklin Mineral Museum. The rare copper arsenate, Lemanskiite was named in his honor in 1999.