Home > Mexico I – December 15 > MS1698 Hemimorphite

Hemimorphite


Hemimorphite is a hydrated zinc silicate. In the nineteenth century, the mineral was often called calamine, until Kenngott (1853) named hemimorphite for its well developed hemimorphism. Hemimorphism occurs in crystals lacking a center of symmetry; one end of a crystal displays completely different forms than the opposing end. Hemimorphite is typical of zinc bearing deposits, itself often botryoidal and occasionally confused with similarly appearing smithsonite.

This is a stellate group of hemimorphite crystals to 1.8 cm long; one individual crystal measuring 1.2 cm long is water-clear. This find produced the some of gemmiest hemimorphite known. Other crystals have red phantoms of hematite. This piece comes out of the collection of Gene Wright (1931-2008), a Tucson based collector specializing in calcite, and minerals from Arizona and Mexico.

Price: $100

Item code: MS1698

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