Calcite with Sphalerite - image 1

Calcite with Sphalerite

Unknown Owner
A 4.9 cm wide, colourless, glassy, twinned scalenohedron crystal of Calcite is perched on a stacked group of rich toffee-orange Sphalerite crystals to 2.3 cm. From the Elmwood mine at Carthage in Tennessee, one end of the Calcite is tinged a delicate smoky orange while the Sphalerite crystals appear lustrous metallic black in reflected light. A great Calcite twin from this now closed and most famous of mines.

Product details

Species
Calcite, SphaleriteAbout Calcite →
SizeSmall Cabinet
Dimensions5.8 x 6.0 x 4.1 cm
Added on10/24/2024
Locality
USA, Tennessee, Elmwood MineRegional guide →

Known provenance

DateCollectorAcquisition price
12/2024Unknown Owner$850.00
—Crystal ClassicsNot disclosed

Learn more

Calcite
Mineral guide
Learn about Calcite
diverse shapes, colors, and optical quirks; widely available yet scarce elite pieces from Elmwood and Charcas drive collecting value and display.
Calcite
Regional guide
Calcite from Elmwood Mine, USA
Elmwood Mine calcite is one of the great modern classics of American mineral collecting: honey, champagne, amber and cognac scalenohedra, often doubly terminated and twinned into sculptural “diamond” forms, set against black-brown sphalerite, purple fluorite, ivory barite, or gray carbonate matrix. The best crystals have a warm internal glow rather than merely surface color, with transparent terminations, bright vitreous luster, and enough size to dominate a cabinet. A fine Elmwood calcite does not look like generic calcite from a carbonate vein; it has a locality signature that experienced collectors recognize at a glance.