Orthoclase (etched "herringbone" style crystal)

Item Description

Here we have a wild Orthoclase crystal labeled as coming from Kangerlussuaq, which is a small town in western Greenland. It's possible the labeled locality is incorrect, and the piece is from the Narssârssuk pegmatite in Kujalleq, Greenland. The piece is beautifully etched, but not in a random way that we see in minerals like Beryl, Quartz or Spodumene, but rather with a very specific pattern, reminiscent of the classic "herringbone" style form that we see in other minerals like Silver or Epidote. The distinctive V-shaped form created by the etching solution has turned this ordinary Orthoclase crystal into a piece of natural crystal art. You just don't see this style of etching in any species of feldspar, and it's truly the first of its kind that I've seen. The back of the specimen features prismatic black crystals of an unknown species, (possibly Aegirine, Arfvedsonite or Riebeckite).