5.3" Sparkling Quartz Chalcedony Stalactite Formation - India

Sparkling Quartz Chalcedony Stalactite Formation - India #274746

This is a gorgeous, 5.3" tall sparkling chalcedony/quartz stalactite formation, collected from the Jalgaon District of Maharashtra, India. The stalactites originally formed as aragonite and have pseudomorphed to quartz at their core, and later covered in quartz around the exterior. This specimen would have hung from the ceiling of a cavity within the host rock.

Chalcedony is any microcrystalline variety of silica composed of very fine intergrowths of quartz and mogánite: microcrystalline minerals have microscopic crystals that cannot be observed by the naked eye. Both quartz and mogánite have the same chemical formula SiO2 (silicon dioxide), but different crystal structures. When free from impurities, chalcedony is colorless and transparent. Depending on impurities present during formation, chalcedony can form in a wide variety of colors including red, yellow, green, blue, purple, grey, white, and numerous hues in between. Chalcedony is quite hard at 7 on the Mohs Hardness Scale: this matches its main component quartz, which is the benchmark mineral for the scale at 7.

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