Brazilianite on Albite

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In the 1990s to early 2000s, Telirio began producing a newer habit of Brazilianites that trended more towards being elongated compared to historic and famous older finds cousins from Linópolis. This is a particularly elegant example from that era, and without repairs. Nicely perched atop a plate of textured white Albite is a large and significant cluster of mostly-gemmy, pastel greenish-yellow Brazilianite crystals. The largest crystal is an impressive 3.7 cm in length, and it is almost completely doubly-terminated. There is good gemminess running along the edges of the crystals, and the terminations are particularly GEMMY. And while the crystals have sharp and beveled terminations and edges, and particularly good color and gemminess, it is the quality of the cluster itself that really makes this piece for me. So often crystals, including Brazilianites of this habit, are so tightly packed that you can't appreciate their individual qualities. Here, there is enough space between the nearly dozen crystals that you can appreciate the traits and individuality of each. That makes the cluster considerably more special. Brazilianite specimens with crystals in this size, and with this 'modern style', are so hard to get now. This is an aesthetic, hefty, colorful, and well-balanced specimen. David Matthews was the founder of Agouron and a longtime mineral customer and friend. Dr. Matthews received his PhD in chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1971, and later took a position in the Chemistry Department at the University of California San Diego, where he worked with x-ray crystallography (the same form of analysis used every day to examine minerals), to determine molecular structures at the atomic level. This research, along with a grant from NIH allowed David and his colleagues to develop the drug Viracept, which rapidly became the leading HIV protease-targeted medicine, and part of the HIV "cocktail" that saved countless lives. He has retired and now works for advising the Gates Foundation. You can read more about Dave here: https://www.mineralauctions.com/auctions/special-mineral-auction-the-collection-of-dr-david-matthews.