Bytownite (Feldspar) (large stone) (ex Bill and Anne Cook Collection)

Item Description

When it comes to Feldspars around the world, the vast majority of them are opaque and lack color. It's actually quite rare in nature to find GEM QUALITY Feldspar, and gems with any kind of color are certainly a big deal. Here we have one of the largest faceted stones of Bytownite that we've ever seen. For a time Bytownite was its own species, but now it's defined a variety of Anorthite. This stone is a very attractive, beautifully well cut, straw color "Pear Brilliant" gem, and it's nearly eye clean to boot! It is very rare to find any faceted gems of this material, simply because most gem dealers don't carry them, and to find gem in this size, is notably rare. Priced at $1,487.25 retail. 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.