Due to their transparency, these Dolomites are considered, together with those from Brumado, Brazil, among the finest in the world. In some cases, this transparency can be truly remarkable, as can be seen in this very well-formed specimen. Curiously, it does not come from the golden age of the Asturreta Quarry, when engineer Córdoba was recovering outstanding specimens from the El Pozo area, but rather from a later period, in the upper levels of the Azcárate Quarry.
Geologically, these Dolomites crystallized in cavities within Triassic carbonate rocks affected by hydrothermal processes, which favoured the development of exceptionally transparent and well-defined crystals.
Azcárate Quarry, Eugui, Esteríbar, Comarca Auñamendi, Chartered Community of Navarre (Navarre) Spain (2002)
Specimen size: 5.3 × 3.4 × 3.1 cm = 2.09” × 1.34” × 1.22”
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