*Note: Please make sure to right-click and print (or save) ID card located in the photo gallery for your records*
Beautiful sphere with a bright yellow marialite crystal in the middle of the pinkish-reddish calcite. Dots of blue diopside add interest.
But what we find fascinating is the tenebrescence (see the animation). We cut this sphere from a big chunk of this material. The marialite was inside the rock. Strongly longwave tenebrescent, which is fairly unusual for tenebrescent minerals.
The question about tenebrescent marialite/scapolite from Afghanistan has always been if it was irradiated. Since this mineral was deep inside the rock would irradiation reached deep enough to affect it? Or is this material naturally tenebrescent?
