Pargasite in Marble

Pargasite is a rare sodium-calcium-magnesium-aluminium silicate and in this show-stopping large cabinet specimen displays the most fabulous crystals of emerald leaf green in shades varying from dark to creamy-green.  From the Sungate mine at An Phu in Yenbai Province, Vietnam, the Pargasite occurs in a hard greyish blue-white, finely crystallised Marble and has been carefully developed out from the matrix using a small air-pick chisel, similar to fossil development techniques.  The longest crystal measures 4.5 cm and is surrounded in a hollowed out cavity by several similar crystals of varying size and aspect ratio.  The Pargasite prisms are double terminated and opaque yet have a glassy translucent surface layer.  This is a very showy specimen which will look wonderful displayed.