Sphalerite (excellent gemmy crystals) (ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection)

Item Description

These specimens have been on the market for many years, but they are still some of the most iconic and eye-catching specimens of Sphalerite from any world locality in the last few decades. This large cabinet specimen hosts many sharp, lustrous, gemmy, RICH red-orange color highly modified crystal groups of Sphalerite sitting atop a layer of drusy white Quartz on a very sculptural matrix. The largest Sphalerite group measures 1.3 cm across. When these crystals are backlit, the color they exhibit is fantastic, and truly doesn't look quite like Sphalerite from anywhere else. This is beautiful material, especially considering it's a transparent sulfide ! Most of the Sphalerites are undamaged, but the piece does have a contact point on the back where the piece was removed from the matrix. With that said, the combination of the highly lustrous, razor-sharp crystals with that enchanting color is rare for Sphalerite, especially when you consider the thousands of localities where the species is found around the world. Priced in the inventory at $2,000. Ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection. Along with amassing one of the finest private mineral collections in the world, Steve is a renowned mathematician. His accomplishments include being awarded the Fields Medal in 1966 along with being the awarded the Wolf Prize in mathematics in 2007. You can read Steve's bio on the Mineralogical Record website ( https://mineralogicalrecord.com/labels.asp?colid=671&page=1 ) or on Wikipedia.