Baryte on Calcite

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Elk Creek barytes are among the most recognizable and beautiful barytes in the mineral kingdom, and this small-cabinet piece is a great example. They are literally world class for their species; and the combination of golden baryte perched on orange calcite turns a great baryte specimen into a world class combination piece of mineral art that is immediately recognizable to any collector who has seen them but once before. However, this one is special - especially bright, especially sharp, and perfectly balanced as a small cabinet-size piece. The conjoined, parallel crystals are GEMMY, superbly lustrous, and every bit the gorgeous, golden-amber color you would hope for. The barytes are displayed perfectly on a classic matrix of yellow calcite rhombs, and they reach about 5.5 cm in size. Both the barytes and calcites have muted fluorescence. These barytes are only found in large septarian nodules near creeks and river banks where the Pierre Shale is exposed in the Elk Creek area. Less than 10% of all these septarian nodules contain well-developed crystals, so you can appreciate just how remarkable it is to both find and successfully collect a beauty such as this. Not only that, but it has the deep root beer color which is actually rare in the highest level of quality. Finally, this has lustrous and sharp pointed terminations without the usual fuzziness or etching we often see, particularly on otherwise gemmy crystals. Those extra small details of quality, seemingly persnickety, really make this piece transition into the top percentile, compared to others (and we have followed these for decades since the 1980s). This is, for a size range, as good a quality as you can get, balanced as perfectly as you can get, and really among the best in size class that we know of for a combination of all of the features mentioned above. It is, in person, just better than others, more refined and jewel-like.