Pyrite

Many moons ago I had the pleasure of collecting close to the village of Navajún in the La Rioja district of central northern Spain, where the quality of Pyrite moves into a whole new dimension!  This choice double cube is so characteristic of this locality, where one corner of the smaller crystal impinges into the face of the larger.  Like so many of these specimens, the two crystals have become detached at some stage, possibly while in-situ, as there is often a thin film of yellow-buff marl binding the two together, forming a weak layer which readily parts.   The two have been glued back together, but extremely carefully and using a non-fluorescent, colourless adhesive which is totally invisible.  Each crystal has mirror-like, smooth and reflective faces, razor-sharp edges, perfect and sharp corners and are brassy-gold with a bright metallic lustre.  A delightful small miniature from Navajún in Spain.  The specimen comes with a small square acrylic base on which it was once mounted.  It is now detached from this base but can easily be reattached if desired.