The Nature Company - Optical Calcite light Lavender Rhomboid form 70-80 mm

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Highly unusual rhomboid classic form with light lavender cast to each crystal. Calcite, which gets its name from "chalix" the Greek word for lime, is a most amazing and yet, most common mineral. It is one of the most common minerals on the face of the Earth, comprising about 4% by weight of the Earth's crust and is formed in many different geological environments. Calcite can form rocks of considerable mass and constitutes a significant part of all three major rock classification types.

It forms oolitic, fossiliferous and massive limestones in sedimentary environments and even serves as the cements for many sandstones and shales. Limestone becomes marble from the heat and pressure of metamorphic events. Calcite is even a major component in the igneous rock called carbonatite and forms the major portion of many hydrothermal veins. Some of these rock types are composed of better than 99% calcite. Why would a collector be interested in such a common mineral? Its extraordinary diversity and beauty! With calcite so abundant and so widely distributed it is no wonder that it can be so varied.