Description
Klichka, Borzya, Zabaykalsky Krai (Transbaikal Region/ Eastern Siberia), Russia
A highly lustrous plate of stellerite from this obscure Russian locale. It shows beautiful, orthorhombic crystals which are connected by thin plates of what appears to be calcite. These plates give the specimen an aesthetic like it is stitched together. The stellerite crystals are very well isolated. They have a curved appearance to the terminations which then create macro aggregates of flame type formations. The blue gray color and wet luster are really subtly beautiful. While the differentiation between stilbite and stellerite is one of chemical analysis. This piece was formerly owned by both Bryan Lees of Collector’s Edge and William Metropolis, who wrote the definitive paper on stilbites and stellerites. This piece was one of the pieces that was used for that scholarly article. I am quite confident that this is indeed a stellerite. There are some missing crystals on the bottom center near where the piece was extracted.
Bryan and Kathryn Lees (with card) – William Metropolis (with card) – George Elling
4.00 x 12.50 x 6.30 cm
