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Willemite

Unknown Owner
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These two parallel-growth crystals are unusual for their long prismatic crystallography and size (about 5 cm). They fluoresce a vivid yellow- green color and both crystals are doubly terminated. Ex. Peter Zodac (1894-1967) collection. Peter was a well known collector who founded the journal, Rocks & Minerals in 1926. Specimens with his original labels are scarce on the market today. I am told that this is a very old, rare style for willemite from this mine, and it is probably from the early 1900s. Note the startlingly strong, green fluorescence. Ex. Larry Conklin Collection

Product details

SpeciesWillemite
SizeMiniature
Dimensions5.0 x 3.1 x 2.2 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.