Xenotime-(Y)

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As yttrium phosphate, Xenotime-(Y) usually occurs as very small tetragonal crystals, but on rare occasions it is found as much larger, spectacular crystals. Zagi Mountain in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan is widely accepted as the world's premier locality for Xenotime-(Y) both in terms of crystal size and aesthetics, with beautiful large diverging sprays of well-formed tetragonal prismatic crystals with a great resinous lustre. This extremely fine miniature-sized specimen is not the largest known, but is exceptional for its overall quality, with majestic stepped blocky crystals with charming chamfered edges, a rich fudge colour and lovely 'wet' resinous to waxy lustre. Full of character, this off-matrix crystal spray is mounted upon a clear acryllic block for display but can easily be removed. First found at Zagi Mountain in the very early 2000s, the supply of crystals tailed off quite rapidly with nothing new seen on the market for many years. It is from the superb systematic collection assembled by the brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021).