Epidote (pseudo-octahedral and slightly magnetic)

Item Description

Here we have a fairly good sized example of these distinctive Epidotes that dates back to circa 2010-2011. This piece comes from Baluchistan, which is the same area in Pakistan where the exciting Brookite and Anatase specimens have been coming out for quite a few years. These are certainly 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 has a distinctive pseudo-octahedral habit, and plays host several smaller crystals scattered all over the piece. The large crystal is clearly doubly-terminated, which is not common for Epidote in my experience. There are a couple points of contact, so although the piece crystallized most of the way around, it's not a complete "floater". It's still a very attractive "fist"-sized specimen of this now difficult to find material. It's my understanding that these specimens 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 he was mentored by Dr. Frederick Pough of the American Museum of Natural History, and learned about the business side from well-known mineral 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.