Zektzerite

$5,000.00

$40.00 shipping
Seller offers an extended return window of up to 30 days
Ships from USA

Crystal ClassicsFeatured

Tucson, Arizona, USA

7,543 for sale·132 sold

For systematic and rare species collectors, this excellent example of the very rare silicate Zektzerite will make a welcome addition. From its type locality at Washington Pass within the Golden Horn Batholith in Okanogan County, Washington, USA. This igneous province forms the crystalline core of the Northern Cascades; an approximately 1500 km long plutonic and metamorphic belt, part of the Coast Plutonic Complex. Zektzerite is a lithium-sodium-zirconium silicate and forms about half of an equant, pale pink hexagonal crystal. The small white crystals visible on the photo are Microcline Feldspar. This miniature measures 3.4 x 3.1 x 2.0 cm and is mounted vertically on a small, clear acrylic square base. Zektzerite is named for Jack Zektzer (born 1936), a mathematician, geologist and mineral collector, living in Seattle, Washington. He discovered this species on Kangaroo Ridge near Washington Pass in 1968. This is the only known locality for the species and when transparent, is classified as a gem mineral. It is considered the USA's rarest gemstone and fluoresces pale yellow in SWUV.