Epidote (gemmy twinned crystal)

Item Description

The "Alpine-type" cleft deposit at Hashupa for many years produced a good number of top quality Epidote crystals. We haven't seen much coming out of this area in recent years, and crystals are certainly less common on the market now. These crystals compare quite favorably to their true Alpine cousins from Europe (specifically those from the famous Knappenwand in Austria). In many cases, the Pakistani pieces are bigger and often gemmier than those from Austria. This piece is a fine example of this classic material, featuring a rather thick, sharp, lustrous, well-formed prismatic crystal showing a defined twinning habit on the termination. When strongly backlit, the crystal has a deep amber hue internally. No major damage, though the termination does have a bit of interrupted growth, from what looks like interference with "Byssolite". A really choice crystal of these now hard to find Epidotes, especially since it's a seldom-seen twin. Valued $950. Please note that the piece was erroneously labeled as coming from "Shingus" (Shengus), but this was a common mistake in the early days of these crystals coming to the Western market.
From the collection of Robert (Bob) Reynolds who passed in August of 2020. Bob was a well-known fossil and mineral expert and former Curator of Earth Sciences at the San Bernardino County Museum in California. The rare phyllomanganate-chromate species Reynoldsite was named in his honor in 2011.