Epidote (''floater'' specimen - slightly magnetic)

Item Description

This piece hails from the finds around 2010-2011 from Baluchistan, Pakistan. This area is where the exciting Brookite and Anatase specimens have been coming out, and the Epidotes succeeded them by several years. They are some of the most unusual and interesting Epidote crystals you'll see. These crystals do not have the characteristic thin prismatic appearance of those from places like Tormiq or Alchuri, but rather are opaque and blocky, with a notably darker green hue, and a distinctive secondary coating of what I'm told is Magnetite, as these crystals show a weak magnetism when exposed to magnetic objects. The main crystal on this piece is a thick stout prism with broad pyramidal terminations, and is actually doubly-terminated, which is not common for Epidote in my experience. Many smaller secondary Epidotes can be seen growing on the surface of the larger main crystals. Additionally, the piece is a complete "floater", as it's crystallized on all sides, and I can't find any point of attachment anywhere. A very attractive specimen of this now difficult to find material. It's my understanding that specimens from this find have disappeared from the market, so if you want one, pick this one up while you can.
This piece comes to us from the legendary Ron Romanella (February 28, 1932 - October 24, 2022), a well-known gem and mineral dealer from New York City. He studied mineralogy at Columbia School of Mines, and was mentored by Dr. Frederick Pough of the American Museum of Natural History. Ron learned about the business side of minerals from well-known dealers Hugh Ford and Maurice Hammoneau. Ron himself was a mentor to other successful East Coast mineral dealers such as Larry Conklin, Herb Obodda and even employed Dave Wilber for a time. He largely transitioned out of selling minerals as his business focused more on gems for the last few decades, and his sons Michael and Jerry have been running the family business in Scottsdale for many years now. With that said, Ron was one of the great powerhouse mineral dealers in the US for many years, offering fine quality specimens and gem crystals from classic and contemporary localities. Among his top achievements, is that Ron is credited with importing the first known crystals of Tanzanite into the US in the 1960s.