Duftite on Calcite (''floater'' specimen) (ex Bob Reynolds Collection)

Item Description

This is a wonderful old classic specimen of the famous Duftite/Calcite association specimens from what many people agree is the world's greatest mineral locality. This small cabinet specimen is a complete "floater" as it's crystallized on all sides, with no visible point of attachment I can find. It's filled with excellent, sharp, well-formed, white/colorless rhombic crystals of Calcite, but one side has full coverage of sparkling olive-green Duftite, while the other side is completely uncovered. The largest Calcite measures up to 8 mm. For those who don't know. The Tsumeb Mine is the type locality for Duftite, and the combination of Duftite with Calcite is one of the signature associations from this mine. Tsumeb Calcite doesn't get enough credit for its quality, because it's typically overshadowed by the Smithsonites from this locality, but I personally love them, and this piece is a great example of this old classic material. From the collection of Robert (Bob) Reynolds who passed in August of 2020. Bob was a well-known fossil and mineral expert and former Curator of Earth Sciences at the San Bernardino County Museum in California. The rare phyllomanganate-chromate species Reynoldsite was named in his honor in 2011.