Detailed information
Dimensions
24 x 39 x 58
mm
Weight
30 g
Locality
Bourg d'Oisans Isère, Rhône-Alpes France
Condition
No recorded repairs
Axinite is one of the minerals which put Bourg d'Oisans in Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France on the map. Known since the 1770s, the razor-sharp clove-brown to violet-brown triclinic crystals are what gave it its name - 'Axe'-inite, having previously been termed "Violet Schorl" and "Thumite" based on its appearance and one of the early localities. There are several occurrences in the valleys surrounding Bourg d'Oisans and I cannot be certain of the specific source of this specimen, but it is an older one, accompanied by a nice handwritten label appearing to have the style of the second half of the 19th century. Forming a thin plate which doesn't sit naturally for display, it does nevertheless host several exceptionally well-formed, classic, razor-sharp, triclinic bladed crystals with great colour (clove brown), lustre and transparency. The largest crystal is very 3-dimensional and looks like a perfect 'model' crystal, reaching 2.2 cm in length, but it does has a chip along one edge and a Quartz crystal protruding from one side. Based on other Axinite specimens in the Bourg d'Oisans area it is likely to be Axinite-(Fe). It is from the superb systematic collection assembled by the brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021).
