Epidote (''Faden''' group)

Item Description

For reference, this piece was labeled as coming from Shengus, but this was a common misnomer years ago. It is actually from Hashupa, where a lot of excellent Epidotes have been found over the past few decades. This piece is from an "Alpine-type" deposit in the high Pakistani mountains around Shigar, which is very similar to the famous Austrian Epidotes from the Knappenwand locality. What really set the Pakistani specimens apart was not just the size, luster and sharpness, but they were rather gemmy(!) even in thicker crystals, which is not commonly seen from other worldwide examples. In recent years, we've noticed that it has become increasingly difficult to find top Epidotes from this locality, as my friends in Pakistan tell me that little is being found. This gorgeous small cabinet display specimen hosts very good, sharp, lustrous, fairly thick, gemmy prismatic crystals with colors ranging from green to golden hues. Minor white Albite can be seen as well. Because Epidote is pleochroic, it will change colors when the crystals are viewed on different axes, so you can see the various hues light up when the crystals are rotated with backlighting. The piece is actually a "Faden" group, which is a fairly well-known phenomenon for the species. "Faden" is the German word for "string" and if you look on the back of the piece, you can see how the crystals grew along the fibrous "strings" that allowed the smaller crystals to form together in near parallel growth. A bit of roughness can be seen in few spots, but the piece is still in good condition. You just don't see pieces like this on the market anymore, and if you consider that most Epidote crystals around the world are "black" and opaque, this piece is in the higher echelon in terms of quality for the species. Valued at $1,500. Ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection. Along with amassing one of the finest private mineral collections in the world, Steve is a renowned mathematician. His accomplishments include being awarded the Fields Medal in 1966 along with being the awarded the Wolf Prize in mathematics in 2007. You can read Steve's bio on the Mineralogical Record website ( https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/smalestephen/ ) or on Wikipedia.