Celestine and Sulfur – Machów, Poland | Ref. 32

Specimen overview

This specimen combines numerous elongated celestine crystals with pale yellow native sulfur. The crystals grow in several directions, forming a dense crystallisation widely distributed across the different faces of the specimen.

The celestine crystals vary in length and thickness. Several large, well-individualised points stand out from the cluster, particularly on the main face and along the sides, while finer crystallisations fill the spaces between them. The terminations and lustrous faces are clearly visible under different lighting conditions.

The crystals are mainly colourless to slightly beige or champagne, with varying degrees of transparency depending on their thickness and orientation. The yellow tones visible throughout the specimen are mainly produced by the sulfur, which occurs as pale granular areas between the crystals and across the matrix.

The rear view reveals a more compact crystallisation and exposes larger areas of sulfur. The different arrangement on each face allows both the isolated elongated points and the more closely packed crystal clusters to be observed.

Provenance

This specimen comes from the Machów Mine, near Tarnobrzeg, Poland, a former sulfur mine well known for its associations of celestine and native sulfur. It was collected in 2006.

Dimensions and presentation

The specimen measures 75 × 50 × 70 mm (L × W × H) and weighs 175 g.

It is mounted on an acrylic base.