Hydroxylherderite on Smoky Quartz (rare locality specimen)

Item Description

A rarely seen specimen of Hydroxylherderite from the Blue Chihuahua Mine in Riverside County, California. These specimens have been known for decades (the earliest reference I can find for them came from Al Ordway in "Gems and Minerals" - December 1968), but you almost never see them on the market. This specimen is a two-sided piece where one side features a sharp, well-formed, lustrous, gemmy Smoky Quartz prism with a small black Schorl flaring off the side, but when you flip the piece over, you can see several pale blue-grey colored crystals of Hydroxylherderite measuring up to 5 mm, on the sheer side of the Smoky Quartz. There are only a handful of localities in California where Hydroxylherderite has been found, and I would say that the Blue Chihuahua Mine is arguably the most famous and has produced the best specimens of the species in the state. You don't see these anywhere, and if you collect pegmatite minerals or specimens from southern California, don't miss out on this one, as it dates back several decades.