Stichtite with Stichtite-2H (formerly Barbertonite)

Item Description

This piece comes with an old hand-written label that states it's "Barbertonite" with Stichtite, but the former was discredited when it was discovered that it was actually a polytype of Stichtite, so we have Stichtite and Stichtite-2H together on the same specimen. Stichtite is a rare hydrated magnesium chromium carbonate that is not often found in terribly rich samples like this piece. The species was named after Robert Carl Sticht, the famed American metallurgist and copper mine manager. This piece is a beautiful example featuring purple veins of Stichtite and Stichtite-2H cutting through the black Serpentine matrix. The thinner veins almost look like purple lighting bolts cascading through the matrix, and the directional chatoyant luster of both the Stichtite and Stichtite-2H gives the piece a lot of life when it's rotated in the light. A really cool specimen of this old classic material from this big asbestos mine in South Africa.