Fresnoite on Analcime

Fresnoite is an extremely rare, and luckily beautiful, mineral species that contains Titanium - much to your surprise when you look at it and see a translucent, juicy butterscotch-colored crystal! This particular specimen features a relatively large Fresnoite crystal, perched starkly on matrix of Analcime. It is incredibly uncommon. Only a handful of such specimens were found, in a single pocket found around 1999-2000 by dealer and miner Scott Kleine. This piece went to the Cooks, and has been there ever since. It is a particularly elegant specimen with sharp contrast of geometry and color, compared to most matrix fresnoites - of which there are few enough - that simply sit helter skelter on ugly matrix. The crystal is pristine, lustrous, and measures 1.25 cm across.