As you'll see in the attached photos, aegirine forms as long thin bladed crystals with lustrous black color. Of course, the photos cannot capture the true attractiveness of the crystals, with or without the attached microcline. They are not nearly as colorful or as gorgeous as last month's Rhodonite, which is reflected in the much lower costs of these pieces! These are valuable because they are excellent representations of a mineral that rarely forms sizable crystals; and because they come from what is now recognized as a classic locality for aegirine.
Basically, we've divided the aegirines into two groups--single aegirine crystals for those who want just the pure mineral, and aegirine crystals with small, cream-colored, blocky crystals of microcline feldspar, for those who prefer composite pieces. (As part of this lot, we picked out a few larger composite pieces of mainly microcline with minor aegirine. You can find the details on these latter pieces in the attached June 2011 Offer sheet, along with some other minerals you might find of interest.) Click here to open the June 2011 Offer Sheet As always, the Gold-level specimens are available for $26.50. Gold-level specimens consist of long, thin black blades about 2.5" to 3" long and about .25" to .375" (3/8") wide, with imperfect terminations.
Group 1 Aegirines are clusters of long thin lustrous black blades grown side by side, as seen in the attached photo. These are about 3" to 5" long and about .5" to .75" wide. They are priced by size and are available for $45, $55, and $65. Some of these have minor amounts of very small crystals of microcline or quartz, or a small area with a coating of goethite (as mentioned in the Aegirine write-up under "About Our Specimens.")
Group 2 Aegirines are the biggest and best of the clusters of long thin lustrous black blades grown side by side, again, as seen in the attached photo. We have just a few of these. They are about 4.5" to 6.5" long, and thicker--from about 1" to 1.75". These are the best of the lot and are available for $130, $150, $170, and the best for $250 and $300. We can send you a photo of the pricier ones if you wish.
Group 3 Aegirines are not better than Group 1 and Group 2 aegirines; they simply have small blocky crystals of cream-colored microcline on them! We have small composite specimens with aegirine about 1.5" to 1.75" long with a fair coverage of microcline available for $15; with longer aegirine and better microcline coverage about 2" to 3" long for $30.
Group 4 Aegirines are similar to Group 3, only longer and with significantly more microcline crystals. The aegirines are about 3" to 3.5" long with a good coverage of the orthoclase crystals, as seen in the attached photo. These are available for $45 and $55, according to size/quality. We have a couple of extra-quality pieces available for $100 and $130. We can send you a photo of the pricier ones if you wish.
You will find additional composite pieces with more microcline and less aegirine described in the attached Offer sheet. If you wish to get two aegirines so as to have both habits, we will give you a 10% discount on the higher-priced piece and a 25% discount on the lesser-priced piece. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to place an order, or would like to pass on this month's mineral. Thanks in advance!
Richard
