Vivianite (ex Rolando Gioia Collection)

Item Description

Vivianite is a rare species from Brazil. This is a wonderful miniature featuring a layered / "fan"-shaped group of slightly translucent dark blue colored Vivianite free of matrix. The crystals need a fair amount of backlighting to get any color through, but you can see they're not completely opauqe. This is a rare pegmatitic Vivianite, and despite a bit of damage, it's still a worthwhile reference specimen from Brazil. Normally this species forms in phosphate pods, or in phosphate quarries often related to fossilized material there, but seldom in gem pegmatite environments. From the collection of Rolando Gioia (a contributor to new definitive book on Brazilian minerals: "Minerais e Pedras Preciosas do Brasil").