Carletonite

Unknown Owner

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Some rare species stand above others in collector hierarchy because they are not only rare, but also beautiful and colorful, with big crystals. Why should so many come from MSH, and nowhere else, who can say? But Carletonite is one of those legendary signature rare species that holds its own in any kind of display collection, while also being significant for a location and chemistry. A very colorful, rich, three-dimensional specimen of Carletonite from the Type Locality for the material, the Poudrette Quarry in Quebec, Canada. This is a display quality, competitive quality miniature with elegance; while most specimens are thumbnails or big clunker matrix pieces in comparison. This piece has a variegated zoning of color, typical for this material: going from a rich royal blue and pale blue to almost whitish color. The size of the freestanding crystal is significant not only because the largest (main) crystal measuring 2 cm on edge, but also because it is not stuck in a jumbly cluster as are so many. These were found in only a very few pockets, mostly in the 1980s, in any kind of size and quality - and they are almost unobtainable on market today at any price. It has a squarish shaped, dark blue central area and a 1 cm sidecar crystal is also this same color in its entirety. Carletonite is a potassium-sodium-calcium silicate-carbonate hydrate. The main crystal on this miniature is large for the species and quite good! There is supposedly one reported locality in Russia, but otherwise, the Poudrette Quarry is the only validated locality and the crystals here are certainly spectacular, like this one! An old piece acquired by George Loud in the 1980s when they came out. Like most others, it almost certainly came from well-known MSH collector Gilles Haineault, although we cannot find an old label to prove it. Gilles brought them down from Canada to the Rochester Symposium, where he was an important source and George bought many of his MSH pieces from him in the 1980s-1990s. (And stay tuned for more from the Loud MSH suite!)