Detailed information
Species
Hibonite
Dimensions
54 x 60 x 44
mm
Weight
200 g
Locality
Tranomaro-Maromby area Tranomaro, Amboasary Sud Anosy, Madagascar
Condition
No recorded repairs
Custom Stand
Yes - custom stand included
Hibonite is an interesting mineral species. Chemically it is calcium aluminium oxide and hard enough to be considered a gemstone (7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale), but rarely is it colourful or translucent. Indeed, the majority of its reported occurrences are from inclusions in meteorites with the exception of a few rare pegmatite occurrences. Remarkably, the highest concentration of localities with Hibonite are on the island of Madagascar, which is also the place where it was first discovered as a new species in the 1950s. This magnificent crystallized Hibonite from Madagascar, features a huge 5.7 cm long tapering doubly-terminated hexagonal lozenge-shaped black crystal in a large miniature-sized matrix. This is a very significant crystal for this extremely rare species and displays the classic 'stepped', almost layered surface texture - where inclusions of surrounding minerals are embedded within the layers - perfectly. This specimen is not from the original Type Locality which was an alluvial deposit at Esiva but is from a more recent find in the same Tranomaro-Maromby area. It comes with a custom-made acryllic Sunnywood display stand which displays it perfectly with the Hibonite crystal in a nice upright position. It is from the superb systematic collection assembled by the brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021).