Pyromorphite on Baryte (classic locale)

Item Description

Radiating clusters of lustrous, translucent honey-brown pyromorphite prisms with striking mustard-yellow hoppered tips dramatically cover the undulating dense shrub-like field of crystals set atop the stalk of massive barite. The crystals reach about 6 mm. In very good shape, overall. The few small spots of bruising and scattered broken crystals are certainly acceptable in the context of such a richly covered specimen. The famed Les Farges Mine, one the world's great pyromorphite localities was only open from 1974 to 1981 and produced a dazzling variety of pyromorphite colors and crystal habits. See the 1982 Mineralogical Record article Vol. 13, No. 5. The December, 2009 issue of the French periodical, Le Regne Mineral, is devoted entirely to this noted locale and is filled with photographs of fabulous Les Farges pyromorphites. Ex Bob Reynolds Collection, a well-known fossil and mineral expert and Curator of the San Bernardino County Museum. He passed away in 2020. Classic, rich and sculptural pyromorphite of this varietal on barite.