Epidote (gemmy ''Faden'' crystal group)

Item Description

Starting in the early 1990s, we started to see many superb quality Epidote specimens coming out of the "Alpine-type" deposits in the high Pakistani mountains around Shigar. These amazing, beautiful and excellent quality specimens rivaled the finest crystals from the world-famous Alpine localities in Austria (Knappenwand), where the finest examples of the species have been found. 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 European 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 large thumbnail display specimen hosts superb, sharp, lustrous, gemmy prismatic crystals with a lovely greenish-golden hue. 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 you can clearly see how the piece grew along the fibrous "strings" that allowed the smaller crystals to form together in near parallel growth. 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 higher echelon in terms of quality for the species. From the "Alpine-type" collection of Richard ("Rich") Andrew Kosnar (1946-2007), the well-known mineral dealer and collector from Colorado, who was the namesake for the phosphate species Kosnarite. Rich loved European Alpine minerals, and once the specimens from Pakistan hit the market, he started building a suite of them as they were just as good if not better than their European counterparts.