Wulfenite crystals on Barite (Morocco) cut by EidosBarite Waves Necklace and Earrings
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The centerpiece white Barite blades are encrusted with Wulfenite crystals making it a very interesting and beautiful specimen. The sturdy setting is somewhat protective. The necklace has lots of different freshwater pearls and some crystals. The earrings have the same pearls dangling from vermeil tops.
Wiki gives the primary spelling as "Baryte" but allows the American spelling "Barite." It indicates it is sometimes called "Bologna stone" (wait, don't say "euuuuuuu" -- that name comes from Bologna, Italy one source of the material). It claims 77% of Barite worldwide is used as a weighting agent for drilling fluids in oil and gas exploration... that means we saved this pretty piece from a terrible fate! It also says it "attained some notoriety among alchemists"... we need to know more about that!
The Wulfenite article on Wiki is fascinating and you might want to check it out. The one factoid that anyone might find interesting is that it forms a solid solution in conjunction with Stolzite. That sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it? One doesn't normally think of solutions as solid unless they are frozen. But in this case, it forms a solid state solution which retains its designation of "solution" rather than being termed a "compound" because the crystal structure of the solvent remains unchanged by the addition of the solutes, and the whole lump remains in a single homogeneous phase. Very curious behavior!
To get back to Barite and alchemy: Bologna stone was discovered by an aspiring alchemist, Vincenzo Cascariolo, who heated it and abused it in various ways, causing it to glow for days. So he not only discovered a source of Barite, he was the first to discover a "persistent luminescent material." This was in 1603, can you even imagine how excited he must have been? It took 400 years for scientists to discover why this particular form of Barite behaves this way. Scientists are still intrigued by the stuff and doing fun things with it. You might want to google "Bologna stone pies" to find Cran Cowan's very cool Flickr images and YouTube channel (NurdRage).
Simmons gives instructions for using Barite to help experience "a temporary 'ascension' into the higher worlds." Ahsian says the energy of tabular Barite crystals "rivals that of Herderite for its ability to facilitate hemispheric synchronization in the brain." Melody says it can assist in attaining personal freedom. She also speaks of Wulfenite allowing for attunement to ancient civilizations. Simmons says it can assist with artistic creation. So this combination of stones should be very interesting to work with.
OK, now that you're convinced this piece is for you, why is there no "add to cart" button? Because the centerpiece specimen is fragile. I thought it was a fabulous piece so I made it into a necklace, yet I'm conflicted about offering it to you because the crystal could chip or break if it is banged, put under a seat belt, etc. I can't offer my usual guarantee so I'm not sure what to do with it. If you would like to have it and are willing to treat it with special care, please contact me and we'll discuss it.
