Peruvian Quiruvilca Orpiment

Locality: Quiruvilca Mine, Santiago de Chuco, La Libertad, Peru
Dimensions: 44*28*16mm/19g

A dense cluster of vivid, lustrous orange orpiment crystals, growing tightly against a dark grey matrix, their faces carrying a resinous sheen that turns almost amber when backlit. The Quiruvilca Mine in Peru is widely regarded as one of the finest orpiment localities in the world — specimens from here are known for well-formed crystals and saturated color, and have long stood as benchmark pieces for orange-toned mineral collections. The cluster is tightly packed with sharp, well-defined edges, carrying a real sense of outward growth even at this modest scale.

A note on the mineral: Orpiment (arsenic trisulfide) is a sulfide mineral and one of the few in nature to occur in a naturally vivid orange-yellow hue.

Handling note: Orpiment contains arsenic. Please wash your hands after handling and avoid touching your face or mouth beforehand, do not grind or intentionally create dust from the specimen, and keep it out of reach of children and pets. As a display specimen, handled and viewed normally, there is no cause for concern — this note is simply to guide proper care.

Yours, if it calls to you.