Description
Collectors say that minerals are the universe’s autobiography, written in atoms. Tennessee’s Elmwood zinc mine produced calcite specimens of museum quality — scalenohedral ‘dogtooth’ crystals several centimeters long, water-clear, often with galena or sphalerite partners. The mine closed but these specimens endure as benchmarks. Calcite cleaves in three directions and shows strong double refraction.
This specimen originates from Elmwood Mine, Tennessee, USA, one of the world’s most significant localities for this type of material. Collectors and scientists have drawn from this region for generations, and for good reason: the combination of geological conditions here produces specimens of exceptional quality and clarity.
Every specimen is unique. Photographs approximate the visual experience, but the real thing — its weight, its luster under a raking light, the way it catches the corner of your eye — can only be experienced directly.
