Cinnabar (classic locality)

Item Description

Here we have a classic specimen of the famed Cinnabars from the Almadén Mine in Spain, one of the premier localities in the world for the species. The entry on mindat.org states that this mine is, "the largest mercury deposit in the world. It has produced about 1/3 of the world's mercury." This cabinet sized specimen hosts sharp, deep red color, well-formed Cinnabar crystals measuring to 3 mm, sitting atop white rhombic Dolomite on matrix. We've photographed the crystals with a macro lens to better illustrate the quality.
From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#12 S), a well-known German collector all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started collecting seriously at the age of 14 and his great and varied worldwide collection reached over 6000 pieces. He was very active mineralogically until shortly before his passing in 2020 at the age of 82. Considering his collection had a large number of pieces, it still had an unusually high standard of quality from most worldwide localities. He particularly specialized in all classics as well as minerals of the Black Forest, where he spent much time collecting. His Black Forest and German subcollections went to his good friend Wolfgang Wendel. We at The Arkenstone have the privilege of offering the remainder of this great worldwide collection over the coming months and years through our various platforms.