Cinnabar (fine gemmy crystals) on Dolomite

Item Description

Some of the finest crystallized examples of Cinnabar are found in a few localities in China, and the Chatian Mine is certainly one of the premier producers of the species. The amazingly alluring metallic red appearance of Cinnabar is distinctive in the mineral world, as few species have this quality, and when you can find well-formed crystals that are GEMMY when backlit, sitting on matrix, it's about as good as it gets. This small cabinet specimen hosts a few superb quality, very sharp, highly lustrous, metallic red colored hexagonal crystals of Cinnabar measuring up to 8 mm, sitting among cream colored rhombic Dolomite on matrix. The crystals glow with color when backlit, showing supreme internal gemminess. No major damage that I can see, though there appears to be one tiny nick to the main Cinnabar crystal. From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#365 C), 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 next two to three years through our various platforms.