Tridymite (rare triclinic polymorph of Quartz)

Item Description

Tridymite is the high-temperature, low-pressure polymorph of Quartz that is typically found as thin pseudo-hexagonal (triclinic) crystals in some igneous rocks and stony meteorites. Tridymite was first described in 1868 and the type location is in Hidalgo, Mexico. The material from Vechec in Slovakia actually forms gorgeous radiating "star"-shaped twins, which is not common for an already are mineral. This impressive cabinet sized piece features attractive small, sharp, lustrous, gemmy pseudo-hexagonal (triclinic) "blades" and "star"-shaped twins of Tridymite measuring up to 2 mm on matrix. Good quality for the species and the locality, and this is a great opportunity for a rare species collector to pick up a hard to find piece of this sought after material. We have photographed the specimen with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality. It should be noted that in December 2015, the team behind NASA's Mars Science Laboratory announced the discovery of large amounts of Tridymite in Marias Pass, which lies on the slope of Aeolis Mons (more commonly known as Mount Sharp) on Mars. This discovery was certainly unexpected due to the rarity of the mineral here on Earth and the apparent lack of volcanic activity where it was discovered. At the time of discovery no explanation for how it was formed was available.