Image: Clinochlore-tuc1030y

Description: Clinochlore Locality: Kop Krom mine, Kop Daglari, Erzurum Province, Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey (Locality at mindat.org) Size: miniature, 4.3 x 3.5 x 3.0 cm Kammererite This beautiful miniature specimen features a GEMMY 1.7 cm crystal atop, which is of quite rare size for the species. More than that, it will literally cut a large stone, again a rarity for the species. This was in the Irv Brown miniatures collection in San Diego, in the mid 1990s, and was then sold as he switched from miniatures to larger specimens. At the time, I recall that the local gem cutter (aka Mark the Butcher of Good Crystals) offered him $1200 for the piece as (wholesale) cutting rough. Irv and I were both mortified! But, that speaks to the rarity of cut gems of this incredibly intense purple color, of any species. Funny enough, I had forgotten about the piece for over a decade and just came across it , to reacquire it, recently. I recognized it immediately of course, as there is so much mediocrity available for these old finds (mostly came out over 30 years ago), and this one was exceptional.
Title: Clinochlore-tuc1030y
Credit: Image: http://www.irocks.com/db_pics/new2010/tuc1030y.jpg, Description: http://www.irocks.com/render.html?species=Clinochlore&page=2
Author: Rob Lavinsky / iRocks.com
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License: CC BY-SA 3.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
Attribution Required?: Yes