Epidote (gemmy crystal)

Item Description

It has become increasingly rare to find excellent specimens such as this from Tormiq on the market these days. These fine quality Pakistani specimens are notably similar 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 gorgeous thumbnail is a very showy, sharp, highly lustrous, rather gemmy crystal featuring a golden color with a "sword"-shaped termination, free of matrix. The pleochroism is very slight on this one due to the thin nature of the crystal. 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 top tier in terms of quality for the species. From the collection of Shields Flynn.