Quartz Japan-Law Twin

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Japan-Law twins are a highly distinct form of twinning seen in Quartz crystals where the crystals grow in a very obvious flattened, almost bladed habit as opposed to a symmetrical prism, and with a second crystal diverging from the base at around 84 degrees. This type of twinning is rare, but in certain localities such as in Japan where it was named, this type occurs slightly more often. Most frequently (but still rare) they occur as loose crystals detached from matrix and when they are attached to matrix there is no certainty that they will present aesthetically. So, this small cabinet-sized display specimen from Gunyahang quartz mine in Nepal is extremely special, as it not only presents a perfect, and large (6.6 cm across from one twin to the other) Japan-Law twin, but it is complimented with many perfect 'normal' needle-type prismatic Quartz crystals. Added to this is the inaccessibility of the locality, located at about 4,000 m above sea level and near to the snow-line in the eastern Himalayan mountains. A perfect display specimen of this extremely unusual variety of Quartz crystal.