K-Feldspar (var: Adularia) (rare ''Faden'' group)

Item Description

Throughout the Alps, you can find many localities that have produced superb Adularia specimens. These are some of the most classic examples of this variety of K-Feldspar, but there are a few "Alpine-type" localities in the high mountains of Pakistan that produce some great specimens in their own right. Adularia is a low temperature variety of K-Feldspar and is most commonly associated with metamorphic deposits such as those in the Alps. This specimen hosts a group of razor-sharp, highly lustrous, GEMMY, white/colorless, somewhat blocky crystals of Adularia in a beautiful "Faden" growth. "Faden" is the German word for string, and the term is most often applied to Epidote or Quartz specimens where the crystals have grown around and over a thin "string"-like mineral (typically some kind of Amphibole), creating a distinctive growth line through the specimen. You can actually see the crystals of the Amphibole species on the back of this specimen. A very showy and fine quality "Faden" Adularia from this famous locale in Pakistan. Aside from Switzerland, Pakistan is the only locality that I can think of which produces these unusual Feldspars. This piece is from the collection of the well-known mineral dealer Richard Kosnar (1946-2007) from Colorado, who was a serious collector of Alpine and "Alpine-Type" minerals from around the world. He was especially fond of minerals from the European Alpine clefts and the nearly identical deposits in Pakistan.