Specimen #1750

Name: Spodumene var. Triphane with Quartz (floater)

Type: Mineral

Locality: Mawi, Laghman (Nuristan) Province, Afghanistan

Favorite? N

Fluorescent? N

Size: 13.4 x 4.8 x 2.9 cm

Weight: 371

Acquired: 2009-11-25

Source: Arkenstone Auction

Label: N

Comment: The yellow varietal of spodumene, called triphane, is less common from these rich gem crystal localities than green and blue spodumene. This piece is a floater, totally complete all around - including the quartz attached atop as a nice accent! It is from the private collection of a native source of mine in Pakistan, who collected really unusual kunzite and spodumene crystals over a period of about 10 years through the 1990s glory days here. He only had about 2 dozen pieces in the collection, each carefully chosen to be UNIQUE. I believe his eye is good - this is a most unusual specimen for its color, its unusual bar-like shape, and for the floating quartz attached atop. The color is, if anything, more intense in person than in the photos. Most yellow triphanes are etched out and have poor surfaces, for whatever reason this occurs. THIS piece, though, has straigh, glassy faces on the front and back in particular, that are so flat and smooth they seem polished. At 367 grams, this is a hefty piece for the size, and it is also an elegant one.

Minerals: Quartz (SiO₂) Spodumene (LiAlSi₂O₆) Triphane - colorless, yellow

There is one picture on file

M01750-01.jpg:

Spodumene var. Triphane with Quartz (floater), Mawi, Laghman (Nuristan) Province, Afghanistan - 13.4 x 4.8 x 2.9 cm