Detailed information
Dimensions
65 x 52 x 14
mm
Locality
Sacarîmb (Nagyág) Deva, Hunedoara Co. Romania
Condition
No recorded repairs
Sylvanite is an iconic Romanian mineral species and so too is its name - after [Tran]sylvania where it was first discovered. This extremely rich, and very displayable Sylvanite is not from the Type Locality at Baia de Arieș in Alba County, but from Sacarîmb (Nagyág) in Hunedoara Co., some 50 miles further south. Equally well-known, the specimens from Nagyag are often even more richly crystallized and that is certainly the case here with this smaller cabinet-sized display specimen. Upon it a porphyry-style rock matrix is cut by a thin veinlet of white quartz which forms the wider edge of the piece and reveals well-formed silvery-grey dendritic crystal clusters laced over the display area, with a silvery metallic lustre. The Sylvanite displays over an area measuring 6.5 cm x 3 cm formed over a druse of pink to colourless Quartz. A brilliant specimen of this rare silver gold telluride species from this old classic location. Ex Michael Harris Collection (North Wales), it also appears to have an older label attached to the back.