Home > Continental Europe – December 31 > MS0852 Leonite replacing Picromerite

Leonite replacing Picromerite - Sold


Guarini et al. (1855) named picromerite after Greek for "bitter" and "part" in allusion to the presence of magnesium and was originally applied to material crystallized from an aqueous solution of mixed salts from Vesuvius fumaroles. The mineral is a hydrated potassium magnesium sulfate, a natural example of a Tutton salt (Bosi et al. 2009). Picromerite is colorless when fresh, but the mineral slowly dehydrates to white leonite, as in this example. This is a well crystallized example of picromerite, with individuals to 1.2 cm. This specimen was part of the personal collection of Ralph Merrill, proprietor of the prolific mail order business Minerals Unlimited. Merrill's collection card and label, as well as an old German script label form the Schenieder collection, also ship with the specimen.