HIDDENITE AND KUNZITE 95
Diego
County, California, and was named in honor of Dr. Kunz, who was for
many years the special agent of the United States Government, and
compiled the official document concerning gems, appearing annually,
together with other reports, under the name of the "Mineral Resources
of the United States."
Kunzite is dichroic, and possesses a charming and almost indescribable light-blue color, which has been characterized as deep rose lilac and delicate pink amethystine. The same crystal displays two different tints when viewed at different angles.
The
mineral is now highly prized as a gem, and its beautiful and delicate
color make it entirely unr'que. Unfortunately the supply is very
limited. The purely chance discovery of such a new and beautiful gem
forms what might almost be regarded as a romance. Think of the chance
conjunction in nature of the peculiar chemical properties forming the
mineral, then the centuries of the infinitesimal growth of the crystals
from these solutions, and finally when the whole had reached its last
stage of perfection, its chance discovery through the prick of the
miner's pickaxe.
