07 October 2010

Haüyne

Posted because it's gorgeous.  I don't know whether the specimen at the top of the frame is a cut stone or a natural crystal; the latter wouldn't surprise me, but I don't know.  Anyone?
Hauyne crystallizes in the isometric system forming translucent, vitreous typically twinned crystals with highly variable color (blue, white, gray, yellow, green, pink).
The formula is (Na,Ca)4-8[Al6Si6(O,S)24](SO4,Cl)1-2

5 comments:

  1. RachelOctober 7, 2010 at 5:13 PM

    As a jeweler I would guess cut. I have never seen any stones that couple out of the ground that perfectly cut and polished ;)

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  2. CaseyOctober 8, 2010 at 7:13 AM

    That's definitely cut...
    http://www.mindat.org/min-1833.html

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  3. twellveOctober 8, 2010 at 9:22 AM

    i also vote for cut, based on the forms crystalline structures are likely to take.

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  4. AnonymousOctober 11, 2010 at 12:39 PM

    Well I was going to say cut but everyone beat me to it....so it's grown in a jar of pickles.

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