Detailed information
Species
Clinohumite, Chondrodite, Spinel
Dimensions
50 x 70 x 31
mm
Weight
116 g
Locality
Luc Yen Yenbai Province Vietnam
Condition
No recorded repairs
Although most specimens from Luc Yen cannot be provenanced to a specific site, this rich orange, crystallized Chondrodite/Clinohumite combination with pink Spinel reportedly was only found at Sungate mine and then only during a narrow period in time from the late 1990s to early 2000s. Originally this orange material was labelled as Clinohumite, but over time the identification appears to have shifted to Chondrodite. Both are magnesium fluro-silicates and members of the Humite Group making visual and chemical identification difficult. Either way, this small cabinet specimen is a very richly crystallized piece from that now important discovery. The largest area of Chondrodite/Clinohumite is colourful, but without obvious crystals, but at the other end of the specimen a complete, freestanding dark orange 5 mm long crystal is visible. The identification of the white crystals is not known. The Spinel shows impressive reaction under UV light: with vivid pink red under LW UV light and purple under SW UV light. It is from the superb systematic collection assembled by the brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021) and was probably acquired by them when this material first came to the market.
