Mica / Sericite pseudomorph after Cordierite-Indialite ("Cherry Blossom")

Item Description

A beautiful and very well-formed small thumbnail sized specimen of the noted and very hard to find "cherry blossom" pseudoromphs from Kameoka City. These specimens are replacements of silvery-golden Muscovite Mica (variety "Sericite") after trapiche habit Cordierite-Indialite. The two species are dimorphous, and Indialite forms at higher temperatures, which is why we see the hexagonal dark lines of the pseudomrphs (Indialite), which eventually cooled down and became the lighter colored Cordierite in between. The form creates a very beautiful pattern, not unlike trapiche Corundum with a radial hexagonal shape, sometimes referred to as a "sakura ishi" (cherry blossom stones). This name has a bit of a confusing history, because it was originally described by Kikuchi as "Cerasite" which was the name for the trapice habit of Cordierite, and perhaps coincidentally lead to confusion about the origin of the name for Sericite. The majority of these specimens measure about 5 - 6 mm across, and weather out of hornfels - they're rarely seen on matrix. This piece has EXCELLENT form with sharp internal lines on the display side. As far as I know there is only one locality for this material in the world, and pieces with sharp defined form like this are few and far between.