Willemite

$12,000.00

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The ArkenstoneFeatured

3,403 for sale·Member since 2026

Willemite is the second most abundant zinc ore from the famous mines at Franklin and Sterling Hill, which comprise the world's greatest locality for fluorescent minerals. This large display piece displays 360 degrees, and is a combination of Willemite, Calcite, and likely Franklinite (co-Type Locality). The reddish-brown Willemite is an amazing 9 cm relatively sharp crystal, and it fluoresceces a classic neon green. The minor Calcite pockets are crystalline and fluoresce a bright reddish-orange. This is a superb specimen of large size for a crystal so sharp and well preserved, and was in the "North Ore Body" display at the Sterling Hill Mineral Museum (display card included). Documented specimens from the North Ore Body at Sterling Hill are extremely rare. Weighing 2.1 pounds, this piece displays perfectly with the large Willemite sitting atop the specimen. Ex. Richard C. Bostwick collection. Bostwick was the mining foreman for the North Orebody before it was closed down - the last working area of the mine. He had the finest collection of such specimens, and they were long displayed in the N.O. Wall section of the Sterling Hill Mining Museum. This was prominent among them, for decades. His collection sold in 2025. Comes with a custom lucite base.

Product details

SpeciesWillemite

SizeSmall Cabinet

Dimensions10.0 x 9.1 x 6.6 cm

Listed on07/10/2026

LocalityUSA, New Jersey, Sterling Hill Mine

SKUSM26-068

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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.

Regional guide

Willemite from Sterling Hill Mine, New Jersey, USA

Sterling Hill willemite is one of the classic collector materials of American mineralogy: a zinc silicate, Zn2SiO4, that can look modest in daylight and then turn electric green under ultraviolet light. In the best pieces, tan to reddish-brown willemite crystals sit in white calcite with black franklinite and, less commonly, red zincite—an ore assemblage so distinctive that even small fragments announce the Franklin-Ogdensburg district at a glance. The daylight palette is earthy and old-mine: mahogany, brick red, honey brown, buff, white, and black. Under shortwave UV, however, willemite becomes the bright green signal in the rock, while calcite may burn red to orange-red and franklinite stays dark.