Epidote (large doubly-terminated crystals)

Item Description

While Epidote has been found in many world localities, the one place that best known for producing world-class Epidote is the renowned Knappenwand locality in the Austrian Alps. The crystals from this locale are not only superb, but they are some of the most exemplary crystals from the standpoint of form and morphology. A few decades ago, we started seeing superb Epidotes that were quite similar to those from Austria coming out of Pakistan. This is not terribly surprising, as many of the "Alpine"-Type localities in Pakistan have produced similar minerals to their true European Alpine counterparts, but I'm always impressed when I see a piece like this outside of Europe. This piece features a handful of very good sized, sharp, lustrous prisms, free of matrix. When backlit, there is a deep golden hue internally, and there areas of near WATER-CLEAR transparency. Overall, the piece is in very good shape. The piece is actually doubly-terminated (multi-terminated), and although one of the terminations might appear broken at first glance, I looked at it with a loupe, and it's actually re-crystallized ("re-healed"), so when it comes to actual damage, there are only some small spots here and there, the piece is largely undamaged, though some of the terminations might look a bit crude. I would value this one in the $1,500-$2,000 range. From the collection of Robert (Bob) Reynolds. 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.