Fluorapatite with Epidote and ''Byssolite''

Item Description

A beautiful association specimen from this "Alpine-type" cleft deposit in Pakistan. The piece is a very interesting group composed of sharp, lustrous, pale lilac colored hexagonal crystals of Fluorapatite which play host to a few golden-green colored gemmy prisms of Epidote and some fibrous inclusions dark green color Actinolite (var "Byssolite"), which makes for a nice accent. The largest Apatite crystal can be seen on the side of the specimen and it measures 1.6 cm. The crystals are certainly gemmy (nearly transparent in areas), and the purple/lilac is arguably the most sought after color for the species, especially from these metamorphic environments. Fine crystallized Apatites are highly regarded from European Alpine localities, and I would make the case that the Pakistani pieces are often better than their European counterparts in terms of size, quality, crystallization and color. No real damage that I can see with the naked eye, and the piece honestly looks better in person than the video indicates. 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 a compliment to his European collection.