Name: Fairfieldite
Brand: The Arkenstone
Price: 9500 USD
Availability: InStock

Fairfieldite

Fairfieldite is not common from the Foote Mine pegmatite and the locality has produced, generally considered by collectors, the largest and best-of-species specimens. This should be ranked among them, as it has color, aesthetics, condition - and is from the mine assayist's collection. The specimen features a large, almost cyclic grouping of superbly well-developed crystals of the rare calcium-manganese phosphate fairfieldite. The large, lovely, pastel pink aggregate of crystals measures an amazing (for the species) 3.2 cm across (HUGE!); and the smaller one is 1.8 cm, which is still large for the species! This small cabinet piece hosts the large cluster dramatically set near the apex of the piece and the smaller cluster at the middle left. There is also a smaller, 6 mm cluster of bladed crystals set just below the large cluster. They are set on a roughly triangular-shaped piece of off-white feldspar matrix that is covered in a rich druse of micro to 2 mm fairfieldite crystals. This piece is particularly notable for not only the remarkable size and quality of the crystals for this species, but the attractive color and the aesthetics. Why some are pink and most are white or gray, we cannot say - but this is sparkling and pink both, the best possible combination. This is an old specimen collected by Jack Eaker, mine chemist and assayist, in the 1970's; and was part of his personal collection (much of which we also purchased later from his estate). It comes with his label. From the important collection of aesthetic rare species assembled over 50 years by well-known Mannheim collector Paul Stahl, a superb and beautiful piece (he bought this from us around 2015 when we got some first few treasured collection pieces, quietly, from Jack himself before his passing in 2021).

$9,500.00