Calcite

Unknown Owner

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This is a superb, aesthetic specimen of calcite from ANY locality, with a funny disjointed and 3-dimensional termination that looks like it is bending over on its base (rhombohedral modifications atop a scalenohedral pedestal). It is complete all around, 3-dimensional and as close to pristine as you can ask for (a few very tiny dings, is all). It is very reflective and lustrous, and so gemmy that light bounces off the back faces and thus makes the crystal look cloudier than it is. So we took the closeup photos with reduced lighting to convey more of the clarity and gemminess. I had not seen a calcite from this locality, despite 20 years of collecting calcite, until this piece came my way in the purchase of the Wilhelm Leithauser collection. And the reason I am told this, is that the find is very old, from the 1930s, and few ever came to market. Indeed, the typed accession label from the Stockholm Museum indicates a date of 1937 (which may be discovery or acquisition, I cannot say). The other label seems to be the actual museum display label.