Diopside w/ Calcite (uncommon locale) Robertson Coll.

Item Description

Sharp, lustrous, variegated green diopside crystals are aesthetically set in a vug of massive diopside. The sections of massive pink calcite are a dramatic and colorful accent to this showy 360-degree specimen. The impressive, large sharp crystal is 6.4 cm and the stout crystal on one side is crudely terminated with embedded calcite. Rich pink calcite fluorescence. Mineral specimens are seldom on the market from this important extinct locality, the most important phlogopite mine in Madagascar (MINDAT). Ex Kay Robertson Collection # 10406 and acquired at the famous Deyrolle mineral shop in Paris, France in May, 1984. 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). The piece probably dates to the 1950s or 60s.