Rutile

Unknown Owner

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This is a lovely, rarely seen classic from California which is otherwise not renowned for fine Rutile crystals. Champion mine is an older locality, opened in 1922 for Andalusite which was used to manufacture artificial Sillimanite, but by the 1930s the deposit was reportedly worked out. Associated with the mineralization were occasional well-formed Rutile crystals, some of which reached sizable proportions, but most specimens seen in collections are old, either from museums, or the recycling of other private collections. This superb miniature specimen features a prominent, 2.2 cm long, naturally fractured, but rehealed, individual, fully terminated reddish-brown Rutile crystal on matrix. The fractures are infilled with the surrounding host rock, leaving the crystal 'suspended'. Its termination is exquisite, wonderfully fine, with a lovely resinous lustre and just the tiniest of microscopic chips to one corner, but hardly perceivable. The specimen is mounted on a small acryllic block for display but can easily be removed using acetone. A delightful, and rare, Californian Rutile.