Corundum (var: Ruby) (rare locality specimen) (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

This piece is labeled as coming from near "Camp Baldy" (now Mt Baldy) in San Bernardino County, California. If features a few sharp, well-formed, translucent, rich purplish-red colored hexagonal prism of Corundum (var: Ruby) frozen in the host rock matrix. The largest crystal measures 1.2 cm long. I can't find a listing for any Ruby specimens anywhere on Mt Baldy, but I trust Kay's labels when it comes to California material, so I'm guessing it might have been at a one-off discovery, or possibly something that somebody found along a hiking trail or on the side of the road. I will admit that it does look similar to the pieces from Cascade Canyon, so it's always a possibility that's where it's from. A MUST HAVE for any fan of California minerals or worldwide Rubies. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#3606). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017).