Amethyst set in 14 karat yellow gold (ex Bill and Anne Cook Collection)

Item Description

A beautiful blending of the mineral and jewelry world. Here we have a wonderful old time Amethyst specimen from Piedra Parada (formerly referred to as the Las Vigas locality) which is set in 14 karat yellow gold wires with a firm gold backing. The piece has two small bezels on the top, so it can be easily attached to a chain and worn around the neck. It's a beautiful piece of jewelry because the Amethyst crystals are not only well-formed and colorful, but they're in fine condition. You don't see a lot of this kind of material on the market these days, and this one certainly dates back many decades. The value of the piece might actually be in the gold itself as the price of gold is quite high right now, as 14 karat yellow gold is around $1,000 per troy ounce at the moment. From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio. This husband and wife duo were actively involved in the mineral world for many decades. Bill was a PhD geologist, and Anne was a mathematician, and they both were very serious mineral collectors. Bill served for many years as adjunct curator of mineralogy at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the Micromounters' Hall of Fame on October 12, 2019. Both Bill and Anne, at various times, served as president both of the Mineralogical Society of Cleveland and of the Micromineral Society of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the mi The rare barium lithium beryllium phosphate Wilancookite was named in their honor in 2015.