Detailed Description

Beautiful clear, glassy, honey-yellow crystals of barite from Cerro Huarihuyn. The central barite crystals on the piece are in parallel growth, and measure 2.8 cm. These barites are highly lustrous.  Virtually pristine - one small rub to the back of the main group, not at all distracting (particularly from the front). The third photo, from the backside, shows some of the phantom zoning inside the large crystal. The small additional barite lying nearly flat to the matrix provides nice offset. This is an extremely well-proportioned specimen which sits perfectly for display. Classy piece.

About These Barites

The barites from Cerro Huarihuyn are among my favourite barites from anywhere – they are glassy and sharp with excellent crystal development, translucent to transparent and some excellent colour (particularly the honey-coloured ones). Unlike most of the classic Peruvian localities, this one is not one of the polymetallic mines in the Andes. Rather, this is an occurrence which was discovered by, is worked by local villagers. The specific location is remote and many specimens have been damaged during transport over rough terrain. Most available are damaged to some degree, but I have scoured to find top quality ones and when they are in excellent condition, they are wonderful barites.