Rutile (var: Ilmenorutile) (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

A fantastic, doubly-terminated "floater" crystal of Rutile (var: Ilmenorutile) from Iveland, Norway. For many years, Ilmenorutile was actually a valid species, but now is defined as a Nb-bearing variety of Rutile, which appears to be an intermediary variety between Niobian Rutile and "Struverite". This piece is from the Setesdal (Setes Valley) in Norway, a country that has produced some excellent examples of this material over the years. The piece is complete all around featuring a stout tetragonal crystal with well-defined pyramidal terminations. A wonderful example for any fan of Rutile, thumbnails or old European classics. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#5830). Kay was a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics. She nearly lived 100 years from April 1920 - March 2020. See the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record ( https://www.mineralogicalrecord.com/pdfs/Kay%20Robertson%20Collection.pdf ), and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017.