Gem Barite (Schlichter Coll.)

Item Description

The Book Cliffs area in western Colorado has produced some superb, colorless prisms of baryte which represent some of the finest examples of the species from Colorado or any other U.S. locality. A sharply terminated, partially water-clear, colorless orthorhombic baryte prism looks more like a gem crystal, than baryte. The double chisel termination is a classic and the "thumb" sidecar crystal is a very nifty accent. Complete all-around and essentially pristine, with only trivial edge wear on back. The crystals form inside of Mancos Shale concretions, which have to be cracked open to expose the barytes inside. Ex. Schlichter Collection.