Location Taken: A Stone Store in Banff, Alberta
Time Taken: June 2010
You know, I think I prefer Fool’s Gold over real gold.
I mean, gold has a definite luster, is highly workable, and doesn’t tarnish, all of which have contributed to its very high esteem and value, but there’s just something about pyrite that appeals to me.
Maybe it’s the color. I don’t actually care for gold’s distinctive yellow color that much. But the duller hint of yellow-grey found in pyrite makes it seem a little otherworldly, something that I highly prize.
Perhaps it’s the crystal structure as well, with the magnificent mix of all sorts of cubes and similar shapes, of all sorts of sizes. It creates a fractal-like pattern, also something I love. Rather than the usual smoothly worked surface of gold, pyrite creations tend to show the patterns it formed with, bringing the magic of the earth to us.
And, well, I like the underdog. I’ve got a strong contrary streak that makes me automatically dislike the most popular things more than I would otherwise. Not to mention the popular stuff, well, gets a lot of attention. There’s little sense of discovery when dealing with them, unlike the ignored items, especially things that gained a nickname because they fooled people into thinking they were their more popular cousin.
Of course, one of the other things I like about Pyrite is that it’s a lot cheaper than gold. I could buy a large pyrite sphere for less than $100. I can’t even find any mention of spheres of solid gold, much less figure out exactly how much one would cost. But for comparison, Pyrite sells for less than a dollar per ounce, while gold is currently about $1320 per ounce. That’s a wee bit of difference, don’t you think?
