Sodalite var: Hackmanite (fluorescent and tenebrescent)

Item Description

Going back to the early 2000s, we started seeing specimens emerging from a handful of discoveries in the Koksha Valley of Afghanistan which yielded fine quality specimens of Sodalite (var: Hackmanite). Certainly, the best of these piece are the finest crystallized examples of the Hackmanite in the world in terms of size, quality, sharpness, color and gemminess. This now famous material is notably hard to find on the market these days, and good specimens are few and far between. The colors of the these Hackmanites ranges from blue to purple to pink and they show an amazing fluorescence under longwave UV light. This specimen features a fine quality, sharp, well-formed, lustrous, purple color Hackmanite crystal measuring 1.7 cm across, aesthetically set on marble matrix. The Hackmanite is in good condition, with a bit of roughness on the outer edge where it was separated from the pocket wall. We have photographed the specimen under UV light, and the Hackmanite shows a light pinkish-orange hue under SW UV light, but under LW UV light it's a more intense orange color. The Hackmanite is also tenebrescent, which is a process where the crystal will darker upon exposure to UV light, but it will eventually return to its original lighter purple hue after a few hours. This process of "changing" the color of the crystal is 100% repeatable, and in no way permanently affects the specimen. A fine quality and attractive display specimen of this world-class material.
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 3618. Jack was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the world encompassing over 3,200 specimens with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece. He admired specimens of all sizes from thumbnails to large cabinets and the vast majority of them rank from fine to world-class in their quality.
Above all else, Jack is considered to be the greatest gentleman in the modern era of mineral collecting. He is beloved by all those who have met him, and he truly is one of the most iconic figures in the mineral world. We recently acquired Jack's collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality pieces for their collections. We are honored to have the opportunity to offer Jack's treasures to everyone on a regular basis in the auctions.
We encourage you to read our blog post at https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection or his profile on the Mineralogical Record website https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/halpernjack/ for more information