Cinnabar (Raul Sanabria Orellana) with Mineralogical Record and Wendell Wilson illustration

Item Description

The Cinnabar specimens from Almadén are among the finest crystallized example of the species extant. The mercury deposits in this area in south central Spain have literally been in production for 2000 years and accounted for 1/3 of all mercury mined in the world. This cabinet sized specimen features a central "vug" featuring several razor-sharp, brilliant, highly lustrous, metallic crystals of Cinnabar measuring up to 7 mm which are incredibly gemmy with an electric glowing blood red hue (very similar to the best color of Proustite) sitting on massive Cinnabar-bearing matrix. The specimen does have a few saw marks on the sides and back where it was obviously trimmed down. The main Cinnabar crystals are in great shape, though there are some bruises here and there. The El Entredicho Mine has been closed since 2006 and is completely flooded, never to produce these amazing specimens again. If you collect sulfides, European classics or if you've always a good quality specimen of this beloved classic material, don't miss out on this one, especially with the free items included for the winner. From the collection of Raul Sanabria Orellana, whose label states that this specimen formerly in the collection of Pedro Saucedo was photographed in "Rivista Bocawina (?)" Vol. 1, 1995 on Page 45, Illustrations 26 & 28. The piece comes with a FREE issue of the Mineralogical Record issue from 2019 highlighting the locality, along with an hand-drawn illustration by Wendell Wilson showing 12 different crystal habits of Cinnabar from Almadén.