Cyprine (rare) (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

I don't know whether this piece should be labeled as Vesuvianite or Cyprine. Both are valid species, but the label accompanying this specimen states that it is Vesuvianite (var: Cyrprine). In 1820 Jons Berzelius described a copper-bearing variety of Vesuvianite and named it Cyprine, but that information was applied to the now valid species of Cyprine. I think it safe to call this piece Cyprine based upon similar examples I've found for reference. This piece hosts small, sharp, prismatic crystals of strong blue colored Cyprine measuring up to 3 mm on Quartz matrix. Very rare on the market, and the color is incredibly intense for such small crystals. A cool rarity to add to a suite of European minerals. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#5969). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Velt" November-December 2017).