Quartz

A splendid, ex-matrix, single Quartz crystal, colourless but with a hint of smokiness and verging on Rock Crystal due to its superb transparency.  From Abbeytown mine & quarry at Ballysadare, County Sligo, Ireland, where good quality Quartz and Calcite crystals have been found sporadically.  The faces of both the termination and prism faces are mirror-smooth and with razor-sharp edges, although some edges suffer from occasional dings and bruises.  The termination is of Dauphiné habit, with six prism faces terminating in a four-sided, skewed pyramid.  This specimen probably originates from the old mine workings as it has a Ward’s Natural Science (Rochester, N.Y.) printed label which will pre-date the modern quarry.