{"product_id":"chrysocolla-ps-after-malachite-ps-after-azurite-with-quartz-22","title":"CHRYSOCOLLA ps. after MALACHITE  ps. after AZURITE with QUARTZ","description":"This specimen from the Tenke-Fungurume area in the Kolwezi mining district, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is both beautiful visually and beautifully complex geologically. Comprising a gorgeous array of intense turquoise-blue bladed crystals rising up from a thin bed of matrix it is only when one realizes what these crystals are, or should I say \"were\" that the complexity arises. These are blades of Chrysocolla - an amorphous copper silicate - coated with an extremely fine layer of colourless Quartz microcrystals, but Chrysocolla does not form crystals, let alone freestanding bladed crystals. The Chrysocolla is a pseudomorph and epimorph - replacement and coating - of Malachite, but Malachite does not form bladed crystals like these either! So, the Malachite is also a pseudomorph, but probably after bladed Azurite, meaning that these are Quartz coating Chrysocolla epimorphs after Malachite pseudomorphs after Azurite. The individual 'blades' exceptionally reach 4 cm in length, but are mostly around 1.5 cm. Wonderfully complex and strikingly beautiful.","brand":"Crystal Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57781433270607,"sku":"CC50940","price":1480.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1011\/3748\/2063\/files\/CC50940_807e2daf-d78b-448a-b046-8532dbf947de.jpg?v=1783989279","url":"https:\/\/crystalclassics.co.uk\/products\/chrysocolla-ps-after-malachite-ps-after-azurite-with-quartz-22","provider":"Crystal Classics UK","version":"1.0","type":"link"}