Chalcanthite (lab grown)

Item Description

An attractive piece from the synthetic mineral suite of Bill and Anne Cook featuring razor-sharp, lustrous, intense blue colored, bladed/wedge-shaped crystals of gemmy Chalcanthite on matrix. The largest crystal measures 2.0 cm long. Most of the crystals are in very good condition, though I can see a few small nicks here and there. These pieces are ideal examples of Chalcanthite, grown in laboratories with stable conditions, resulting in some beautiful examples of this copper sulfate. As mentioned, this piece is from the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio (#13536). 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.