Vesuvianite (HUGE crystal!)

Item Description

I believe this is quite possibly the largest individual crystal of Vesuvianite we've ever had to offer from the Sandaré diggings in Mali, which is much more famous for its beautiful Prehnite and Epidote specimens. These Vesuvianites were limited even when they were coming out of the ground, not that many were found, but the impressive size of the crystals put them in an echelon with some of the largest examples of the species extant. This full-sized cabinet specimen is a large, hefty, sharp, well-formed, rich olive-green to golden-brown colored crystal with good luster, free of matrix. The piece is complete on the front/display side, but partially incomplete on the back where it was separated from the pocket wall. It's remarkable to me that a crystal this size still retains such excellent morphology and isn't distorted, nor dull, not "lumpy". It's a big textbook crystal and is in remarkably good condition for its size. Despite the thickness, the crystal is ever so slightly translucent around the edges with strong backlighting, so it's not completely opaque. A really mesmerizing specimen of this now very hard to find material that hasn't been available on the market in many years. Valued $3,500.
Ex Demetrius Pohl collection. Demetrius was involved in the discovery, mining, and export of these things nearly 25 years ago (~2001) in his role as a geological consultant, who was on the spot when they came out. He cherry picked some special things and kept them all this time. This is from his personal collection and is among best in size class, and unique compared to other localities as well.