Cinnabar on Dolomite with Quartz

A cluster of blocky habit Cinnabar crystals are perched on contrasting Dolomite. The main cluster looks like a single crystal but on close exam it is not, these are inter-grown and aligned much like a twin structure reaching 1.5 CM. Remarkably this is also perfectly damage free under good magnification . Flawless is rare in large Cinnabar as these are quite fragile. Sharp, glassy luster and excellent translucency, the Cinnabar glows a brilliant red if given any backlighting. At one time Chinese Cinnabars were rare classics, the world's best crystals, treasured, nearly priceless and only seen in major museums. That changed around 1990 and good specimens were for a while plentiful. Recently the main mines in Hunan Province have been shut down, these are already getting scarce.

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