Quartz

Unknown Owner

A deep yet highly translucent lustrous smoky quartz gwindel crystal grouping with little attached matrix. Complete all around and in great condition. Very choice Alpine specimen. Very nice when backlit as shown in the picture and at the end of the video.Quartz gwindels are a distinctive type of quartz crystal aggregate characterized by a curved, twisted, or slightly fanned growth of parallel crystals that appear to bend in one direction. They are most commonly found in Alpine cleft deposits where quartz crystallized in open fractures under conditions of slow growth and deformation. The curved form is thought to result from a combination of crystallographic control and slight mechanical stress or differential growth rates during formation. Gwindels are typically smoky or clear quartz and are valued by collectors for their unusual shape and association with classic Alpine mineral localities.