Feldspar ("Moonstone") ("Baveno Twin") (ex Vladimir Pelepenko Collection)

Item Description

This is an older specimen dating back several decades from Sludyanka near Lake Baikal. The piece comes to us from the collection of one of the most well-known Russian collectors of the 20th century, Vladimir Pelepenko. The piece is a sharp, well-formed, prismatic, "smoky" colored Feldspar (presumably either Microcline or Orthoclase) with a textbook "Baveno" twin habit. The two most interesting aspects of the piece are that it is actually a bit gemmy when backlit, which is rarely seen in any Feldspar from Russia, but it also shows a bit of reflective internal "shiller" creating an adularescence effect: "Moonstone". I've never seen another crystal quite like this from any Russian locality, but Microcline is reported from Sludyanka, so I have no reason to question its validity. If you collect Feldspars or interesting examples of commonly known species, don't miss out on this incredibly hard to find example with the provenance of belonging to one of the most prominent collections not only in Russia, but the world. This piece has an old price tag from our inventory of $1,000, and I easily would value it higher today.