Quartz ("Faden") on Calcite (rare association for the locality)

Item Description

Quartz is simply one of the most diverse mineral species in the world for the myriad of crystals habits and varieties found around the world. Some of the most distinctive Quartz specimens are the well-known "Faden" crystal groups from European Alpine deposits. This specimen is quite similar to its European counterparts and it shows the classic internal "Faden" (German word for string) growths that are well known from this locality. The piece exhibits many striking, distinct "Fadens" that runs through the superb, sharp, highly lustrous, colorless, GEM/gemmy crystals creating this beautiful three dimensional display specimen. The most important aspect of the piece may not be the "Fadens" themselves, but the fact that the Quartz crystals are associated with "disc"-shaped crystals of pale beige colored Calcite! I have only seen a handful of pieces of "Faden" Quartz from Pakistan with Calcite like this, and there are a bunch of small Calcites on the underside of the piece, making it nearly crystallized all the way around. The largest Quartz crystal measures 4.7 cm, and the largest Calcite measures 2.6 cm across. I love the balance, appearance and overall quality of the piece, as it's not your run-of-the-mill Faden Quartz from Pakistan. The overall quality of the Quartz crystals is very good, and nearly as lustrous and gemmy as any I've seen from this area. It would rival many superb true Alpine "Fadens" for size, quality and displayability. These Pakistani pieces seemed to have dried up in recent years, and I personally think they are highly underappreciated for what they are. We had this one valued at $1,700 for the size, quality, aesthetics and the rare Calcite association.