Albite

specimen number:
1052726

location:
Rischuna Alp, Bucarischuna, Vals Valley, Vals, Surselva, Grisons, Switzerland

description:
Colorless translucent lustrous crystals of albite measuring to 3.0 cm in size across the front of matrix. In good condition. The specimen comes with an antique label as shown at the end of the video, this label providing an acquisition date of 1912. Minor chlorite is present as well.

The Rischuna Alp, situated high above the Val d'Alp within the Tujetsch municipality of Grisons, Switzerland, is a classic high-altitude alpine locality famous for producing world-class, exceptionally sharp pericline-habit crystals of albite plagioclase feldspar. Geologically, these pristine calcium-sodium silicate crystals are hosted within the metamorphic gneisses and schists of the Gotthard crystalline massif, specifically occurring inside hydrothermal open fissures locally known as alpine clefts. During the structural cooling phases of the late Alpine orogeny, chemically aggressive, heated groundwater leached sodium and silica from the surrounding metamorphic host rocks, slowly reprecipitating the minerals inside the low-pressure open fractures to form exquisite, milk-white to translucent twinned albite crystals that are frequently associated with smoky quartz, rutile, and chlorite. Historically, due to the extreme mountain terrain and fragile high-alpine environment, the Rischuna Alp has never been subjected to industrial open-cast or underground commercial mining operations. Instead, specimen extraction has been conducted exclusively by traditional Swiss crystal hunters, or strahlers, who have manually worked the exposed surface clefts with hammers and chisels for centuries. This highly selective, seasonal specimen quarrying was particularly active during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and continues under strict municipal licensing through 2026, ensuring that classic Rischuna Alp albite specimens remain highly prized, historic treasures in European mineralogical collections.

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