Rutile on Quartz

Unknown Owner

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Although now almost impossible to find on the market, there were at one time a number of these available in the mid-1990s, mined by the crew of a colorful ex-KGB colonel-turned-mineral-dealer. I have not had a good one back in years. This was a fine, very highly rated miniature which I sold back in the late 1990s and got back recently. It features a crystal of 3 cm across, perched smartly atop crystallized quartz matrix. The association, and the quality of these lustrous rutiles, made them instantly wanted by the top collectors at the time. And none were found since, seemingly. This crystal is doubly-terminated and complete all around save only a shallow contact groove in the upper-rear side, not seen from the display face in any case. Joe Budd photos