Kinoite and Fluorapophyllite

Item Description

A beautiful example of rare Kinoite, a hydrated calcium copper silicate, this is from the Christmas Mine in Arizona. Hundreds upon hundreds of the best deep-blue, lustrous, and sharp micro-crystals of Kinoite richly populate both sides of this choice, large small-cabinet specimen. Intermixed with the Kinoites are lustrous and gemmy Apophyllite crystals. When you get up close and personal, you can fully appreciate just how very attractive the contrasts in color and forms are, let alone the sparkle from both species. The type locality for Kinoite is actually further south, in Pima County, but the best examples of Kinoite have come from the Christmas Mine, and mostly from finds a half-century ago. This aesthetic specimen well-represents what have become old, if lesser-known, USA classics. Plus it is just really really pretty! As an interesting aside, the species gets its name from the Italian Jesuit missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino (1645-1711), and you can actually see a statue of him along the Kino Parkway in Tucson. From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl, a well-known German collector all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started collecting seriously at the age of 14 and his great and varied worldwide collection reached over 6000 pieces.