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Quartz with Siderite
Out of stock Victim of his own success!- Locality La Gardette mine (Puits Brides), Oisans, Alps
- Country France
- Region Europe
- Species Quartz
- Size (cm) 13.0 x 10.2 x 7.2
- Size Large Cabinet (10cm - 20cm)
La Gardette is a small gold and quartz mine located near Bourg d'Oisans in the French Alps. Although the mountain's gold reached a legendary status from the 17th to 19th centuries (back then synonym with unexpected abundance in the poor valleys of the Oisans Alps), the coveted precious metal remained very scarce in La Gardette and the small artisanal mine became mythic for another mineral substance: rock crystal, that is quartz!Indeed, the veins of La Gardette rapidly gained a strong reputation for producing extremely clear, glassy and lustrous crystals, suitable for the finest works of art, to the point where La Gardette quartz was used to craft the Hall of Mirror's chandeliers ornamentations in the Versailles royal palace and adorn, up until today, the most prominent mineral collections worldwide.Here is a superb alpine plate specimen featuring a forest of perfectly clear and lustrous quartz crystals, in combination with small lenticular siderite rhobohedrons! The quartz crystals, up to 5 cm long, display the typical Dauphiné habit with a large top face exhibiting bulging crystal growth textures. Notice the very high lustre, almost metallic and splitting light into beautiful rainbow effects along the crystal faces.A remarkable alpine quartz classic from a famous locality!
La Gardette is a small gold and quartz mine located near Bourg d'Oisans in the French Alps. Although the mountain's gold reached a legendary status from the 17th to 19th centuries (back then synonym with unexpected abundance in the poor valleys of the Oisans Alps), the coveted precious metal remained very scarce in La Gardette and the small artisanal mine became mythic for another mineral substance: rock crystal, that is quartz!Indeed, the veins of La Gardette rapidly gained a strong reputation for producing extremely clear, glassy and lustrous crystals, suitable for the finest works of art, to the point where La Gardette quartz was used to craft the Hall of Mirror's chandeliers ornamentations in the Versailles royal palace and adorn, up until today, the most prominent mineral collections worldwide.Here is a superb alpine plate specimen featuring a forest of perfectly clear and lustrous quartz crystals, in combination with small lenticular siderite rhobohedrons! The quartz crystals, up to 5 cm long, display the typical Dauphiné habit with a large top face exhibiting bulging crystal growth textures. Notice the very high lustre, almost metallic and splitting light into beautiful rainbow effects along the crystal faces.A remarkable alpine quartz classic from a famous locality!