- Stone type
- Natural pyrite with galena and quartz
- Weight
- 780g
- Size
- 126x87x59mm
- Color
- Gold, silver and white
- Cut
- Rough
- Clarity
- Opaque
- Treatment
- Untreated
- Origin
- Bulgaria
- Hardness
- 2.5-7
Natural Cluster with Pyrite, Galena and Quartz Crystals from Bulgaria 780g
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Pyrite is the headline on this piece. Large brass-gold crystals, several of them over a centimeter across, sit in a few separate groups on a bed of massive galena and darker sphalerite, their faces striated and bright, one or two carrying a faint iridescent tarnish. Around them grow beds of fine white quartz needles that soften the metallic surface and lift the gold visually. The galena breaks to patches of silver-grey with flat lustrous faces, and the darker sphalerite between them keeps the contrast strong.
Pyrite crystals of this size, cleanly formed on matrix rather than locked into massive ore, are the reason a piece like this gets kept as a specimen. From the Bulgarian lead-zinc field in the Rhodope Mountains. Untreated. Pyrite is 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale, quartz 7 and galena only 2.5, so the galena sets the handling limit. At 780g and 126mm across it works as a main shelf piece.
Natural pyrite, galena and quartz cluster, Bulgaria, single piece.
We ship worldwide from Sofia, Bulgaria. Every order is packed in a protective box with bubble wrap. Orders within Bulgaria are dispatched within 1-2 business days and international orders within 2-3 business days. Free shipping is applied automatically at checkout, and the threshold applies to the order value after any discounts.
Delivery within Bulgaria
- Delivered by Speedy, Econt or Box Now, to a courier office, a locker or your address.
- Fixed prices: Box Now locker €1.60 (free on orders from €25), Speedy office €3.20, Econt office or locker €4.00, Speedy to your address €4.50.
- Free shipping on orders over €50, with any courier and at any weight.
- Cash on delivery is available.
- Delivery normally takes 1-2 business days after dispatch.
- Handle with careThis specimen contains galena, a lead sulfide. Handling it is fine, but wash your hands afterwards, never lick or chew it, keep it away from children and pets, and never grind or sand it.
- Keep dryThis specimen contains metallic sulfides such as pyrite or chalcopyrite, which can tarnish or slowly decay in damp air. Do not wash it: dust it with a soft brush or air blower, dry it at once if it gets wet, and store it somewhere dry, ideally with a silica gel sachet.
- Hardness
- 2.5-7
- Cleavage
- Varies
- Durability
- Fair
- Soapy water
- Avoid
- Ultrasonic
- Avoid
- Steam
- Avoid
About this specimen
This specimen combines several minerals that grew together, each with its own hardness and weak spots, so treat it as gently as its softest part. Here soft minerals such as galena, calcite or sphalerite (hardness 2.5 to 4) sit right next to hard quartz (7).
Cleaning
Do not wash it. Dust it with a soft, dry brush or an air blower, and keep it dry. Skip ultrasonic and steam cleaners: they can loosen crystals and open cracks between the different minerals.
Wear and storage
Store it padded and apart from other specimens, so its edges and faces do not chip or scratch. Lift it by its base or matrix, not by the crystals. It is soft enough to be scratched by a fingernail, so handle it as little as possible.
Scale
True to scale: 126 × 87 × 59 mm
Shown next to a €1 coin (23.25 mm) in the exact ratio, so you can picture the real size. The outline is approximate.
