Home > American Minerals – August 22 > MS1423 Benitoite
Benitoite
- Gem mine
- New Idria district
- San Benito County
- California
- U.S.A.
- 2.7 by 2.0 by 1.4 cm – Thumbnail specimen (fits into a 2.5 cm cube)
Benitoite is a barium titanium silicate. The name denotes its occurrence near the source of the San Benito River (Louderback & Blasdale, 1907). Its formal description by Louderback & Blasdale (1909) remains one of the most comprehensive mineral descriptions ever published. The discovery of benitoite greatly excited crystallographers, as benitoite became first example of a theoretical crystallographic point group 6m2, also called the ditrigonal dipyramidal crystal class, matching a prediction from 1832 (Rogers, 1908).
This specimen hosts a 14 x 14 mm benitoite crystal on blue schist matrix. The blue schist consists of an amphibole, formerly crossite, now defined as glaucophane. This benitoite crystal has incorporated a bit of glaucophane, making it what locals call a "rocky" crystal. An affordable benitoite crystal showing its trigonal symmetry.
Price: $100
Item code: MS1423
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