Ferberite (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

A really nice example of the old Yaogangxian Ferberites that came out in the early 2000s. At first glance, I mistook this piece for an old Panasqueira specimen, as the form and style is quite similar. Several sharp, blocky, prismatic, well-formed, jet-black crystals of Ferberite are intergrown to form a showy and three-dimensional display specimen. Now there are a few nicks, and the piece is cleaved on one side, so it's not pristine, but you simply do not see these Ferberites on the market anymore. They are from a very specific and brief time of production at the Yaogangxian Mine, and although others were found in subsequent years, they never resembled this particular style. A worthwhile piece for anybody who collects black rocks, Chinese minerals, or is just a fan of Ferberite. It should be noted that that piece was labeled as being "Wolframite" which is an outdated term used to describe an intermediary species between Ferberite and Hubnerite, though no actual chemical analysis has yielded a true specimen of "Wolframite". Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#12426). 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).