Sanidine (rare)

Item Description

Sanidine is a potassium Feldspar that is found in various localities around the world, and one of the most classic localities for the material is an old Dana locality in Madagascar. For a long time, this material was thought to be Orthoclase, and you will still a lot of labeled as such, but I believe every analyzed piece has come back as Sanidine, which just increases the value in my mind. Most good quality crystals of Sanidine around the world are often small (typically a few mm) when gemmy, so one rarely finds any pieces that are large enough to cut a stone. This stone is VERY good sized by Sanidine standards. It has a very attractive golden yellow color, with nearly eye clean clarity and a "Pear Brilliant" cut. These gems are not very common, especially in this size, and are some of the most rare of the gem Feldspar stones around. The retail value on this gem is $1,145.25