Gem Orthoclase with Palygorskite - image 1

Gem Orthoclase with Palygorskite - image 2

Gem Orthoclase with Palygorskite - image 3

Gem Orthoclase with Palygorskite - image 4

Gem Orthoclase with Palygorskite

Unknown Owner

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A large gem orthoclase crystal is perched on an unusual white palygorskite matrix (which is, strangely, soft like fibers). This remarkable orthoclase crystal measures 8.6 x 5 x 3.1 cm and is essentially colorless. It shows a sharp Baveno twinning with the twin plane evident from the top of the piece. The palygorskite matrix is nearly snow-white and composed entirely of felted aggregates of soft, fibrous crystals that forms a nest for the orthoclase. With sharp edges and lustrous to slightly satiny crystal faces, the orthoclase is mostly gemmy at one end and translucent to gemmy at the other end. It is complete! This is a fantastic specimen for the species unlike any other we have seen from this region, and displays very well! Some internal fracturing and a small contact on one end. Ex. Herb Obodda collection with label from his Tucson display cases (and in fact, he displayed this with his core Pakistani suite over many years). Herb is the one who originally brought this out of Pakistan and kept it for over a decade. I bought his collection in 2009.