Willemite from Namibia, Oshikoto Region, Tsumeb - image 1

Willemite from Namibia, Oshikoto Region, Tsumeb

Alan Fertel
Alan Fertel
Leesport, Pa.
6 for sale·8 sold

Willemite

Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia

3.6 x 1.85 x 1.75 cm

ex. Michael Hollenbeck Collection

Alan Fertel Personal Collection

This is a gorgeous miniature Willemite from Tsumeb. Showing up a little toward greenish blue in the photo, it's actually a steel grayish blue under cabinet lighting. Blue, a desirable color for Tsumeb Willemite, comes itself in a variety of shades. This specimen is a sparkly floater of botryoidal mounds in a very attractive cluster. A zinc silicate, Willemite from Tsumeb comes in a wide variety of colors and habits.

Product details

Species
WillemiteAbout Willemite →
SizeMiniature
Dimensions3.6 x 1.9 x 1.7 cm
Added on01/15/2026
Locality
Namibia, Oshikoto Region, TsumebRegional guide →

Known provenance

DateCollectorAcquisition price
—Michael HollenbeckNot disclosed

Learn more

Willemite
Mineral guide
Learn about Willemite
fluorescent zinc silicate with UV glow; daylight colors range from colorless to pistachio, iconic from Franklin–Sterling Hill and Tsumeb.
Willemite
Regional guide
Willemite from Tsumeb, Namibia
Tsumeb willemite is the zinc silicate for collectors who usually think of willemite as a fluorescent-mineral classic from Franklin, New Jersey, and then discover that Tsumeb rewrote the aesthetic rules. Here, Zn2SiO4 appears not as massive ore but as glassy to sparkling crystal groups, botryoidal crusts, radiating sprays, delicate acicular “lawns,” and rare individual hexagonal prisms. The colors are equally un-Franklin-like: white, gray, yellow, green, blue-green, turquoise-blue, pale blue, reddish brown, and the much-loved champagne to honey tones. The best pieces have a crisp, jewel-like presence in daylight, often on white calcite or dolomite, with the color contrast that Tsumeb collectors prize.