Willemite, Franklinite - image 1

Willemite, Franklinite

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A highly fluorescent willemite crystal measuring 3 cm tall, perched on matrix. The top is contacted by calcite matrix, though the front faces certainly are sharp enough to make up for it. 5 x 4.5 x 3.5 cm

Product details

SpeciesWillemite, Franklinite
SizeMiniature
Dimensions5.0 x 4.5 x 3.5 cm
Added on10/23/2024
LocalityUSA, New Jersey, Sterling Hill Mine

Known provenance

DateCollectorAcquisition price
08/2024Unknown OwnerNot disclosed
—The ArkenstoneNot disclosed

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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 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.