Sphalerite (fine GEMMY crystals)

Item Description

Sphalerite is a fairly common zinc sulfide mineral, but it has the distinction of being one of the few sulfides that is found in transparent crystals. Even though Sphalerite is found in many localities around the world in good gem quality examples, arguably the finest and most famous transparent Sphalerites are those from what used to be called "Picos de Europa" / "Santander" in Spain. This locality is now more accurately labeled as the Aliva Mine (Las Manforas Mine) in Cantabria. The specimen is group of very gemmy, rather lustrous Sphalerite crystals showing a combination, showing predominantly yellow and orange hues, with small areas of red here and there. The piece looks beautiful when backlit. A wonderful example of this beloved material. From what I have been told, there is very little of this out on the market, especially in good crystallized examples. Specimen weight is 55.1 grams.
From the collection of Richard ("Rich") A. Kosnar, the well-known mineral collector and dealer from Colorado (1946-2007). He was the namesake for the rare zirconium phosphate, Kosnarite. Rich loved classic minerals from Europe, and actually named his company Mineral Classics for this reason.