Gypsum (var: Selenite) (with "hourglass" sand inclusions) (ex Henry de Linde Collection)

Item Description

These famous specimens are some of the most iconic crystals of Gypsum from any US locality. Oklahoma isn't known for a lot of mineral specimens, but I think a lot of collectors think of these beautiful Gypsum crystals when it comes to mineral of the Sooner State. This piece is a fantastic example of this material featuring an excellent, very sharp, doubly-terminated "floater" crystal that would ordinarily be colorless were it not for the beautiful golden-brown sand particle inclusions that have created a gorgeous internal "hourglass" shape. For reference, one end of the crystal might appear broken, but it's actually multi-terminated with a few "teeth"-like points, along with a small hollow opening (possibly where the sand entered during the formation of the crystal). It's not easy to get pieces with such well-defined and equant "hourglass" inclusions like this, and this particular specimen is a choice example of this classic material from northern Oklahoma. From the collection of Henry de Linde (March 21, 1923 – April 4, 2019) of Hot Spring, Arkansas. Henry was one of the most prominent figures in the history of Arkansas mining and mineral collecting. Along with being a miner, mineral collector and an amateur mineralogist, de Linde was one of the founders of the Coon Creek Association mineral club. He was the owner of several key localities in Arkansas including the Diamond Jo Quarry (on the south rim of Magnet Cove), the type locality for Delindeite, which was named in his honor in 1987.