SPHALERITE on QUARTZ

SPECIMEN DESCRIPTION

This is a very distinctive large miniature specimen of Sphalerite from Freiberg, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany, but the specific mine has proven to be illusive. It is an old-timer, accompanied by a very large ornate blue-bordered label simply stating "Zinkblende Freiberg" and comes from the superb collection assembled by brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021). The Sphalerite is orange-brown to dark brown and forms discrete well-formed, but slightly rounded crystals with what appears to be a dark grey sulphosalt mineral on sparry, sugary white Quartz. The smaller Sphalerite crystals, which are mostly 3 to 4 mm in size, are much brighter and gemmier with a great translucency, whilst the larger ones (up to 1 cm) are still quite reflective but with a noticeable resinous lustre. A really unusual Freiberg specimen, but intriguing and very attractive.