Great emerald on matrix with smoky quartz, white quartz, and sphalerite crystal

An emerald specimen with several emerald prisms grown crisscrossing on a complex matrix of smoky quartz, white quartz, and sphalerite.

Emerald is the chromium-bearing variety of beryl. The intense green color is caused by trace amounts of chromium or vanadium in the beryllium-aluminum-silicate lattice.

The sphalerite association is mineralogically interesting. Sphalerite (ZnS) occurs as a sulfide mineral in this deposit, indicating a sulfidic-influenced hydrothermal phase in the late stage of pegmatite formation.

The emerald crystals are not oriented in parallel but lie in different growth directions, indicating an irregularly shaped cavity during mineralization.

A collector's item with didactic value: four minerals (emerald, smoky quartz, white quartz, sphalerite) on a single matrix tell the genesis story of an entire deposit.

Suitable for a mineralogy collection or a teaching cabinet.