Calcite with Rock Crystal from the Virgental, East Tyrol – Alpine Fissure Specimen

This large Calcite specimen with Rock Crystal from the Virgental in East Tyrol, Austria features numerous white to cream-colored Calcite crystals with individual colorless Rock Crystal crystals occurring between them. The densely intergrown crystals form a three-dimensional and varied alpine fissure specimen.

Measuring 14.5 × 14 × 6 cm and weighing 1,140 g, this is a large cabinet specimen. Numerous Calcite crystals cover large areas of the specimen and, together with the Rock Crystal, form a strongly three-dimensional crystal group.

Tabular Calcite crystals with Rock Crystal

The Calcite shows a white to cream-colored appearance and is opaque. The crystals are predominantly tabular to thick-tabular, with some showing wedge-shaped development.

The Calcite crystals are closely arranged and locally intergrown. This creates a complex, three-dimensional surface with numerous differently oriented crystal faces.

Individual Rock Crystal crystals occur between the Calcite. They are colorless to slightly milky, predominantly translucent and locally transparent. The Quartz crystals show a prismatic habit with developed terminations.

Alpine fissure mineralization from the Virgental

The Virgental in East Tyrol lies within a classic Alpine mineralization region. Mineral-rich fluids circulated through fractures in the crystalline rocks and formed open cavities in which minerals such as Quartz and Calcite were able to crystallize.

The association of Calcite and Rock Crystal is characteristic of Alpine fissure mineralization. Particularly notable on this specimen is the large, densely mineralized surface, where numerous Calcite crystals occur together with individual Rock Crystal crystals.