Ferberite (twin)

Item Description

Here is a nice thumbnail sized twinned crystal of Ferberite This species was sometimes previously referred to as "Wolframite", which was supposed to be an intermediary species between Ferberite and Hubnerite, but has since been discredited. This piece features the classic, "butterfly" twinning of Ferberite along the a (100) face. This piece is a good quailty, sharp, lustrous, jet-black twinned crystal. It has an attractive bladed form, with a secondary crystal flaring off the side. It is a good specimen of this rarely seen material. Twinned crystals from Bolivia have becoming increasingly difficult to obtain in recent years as the price of Tungsten ore has driven the miners to throw all the Ferberite into the crusher, causing thousands of specimens to be lost forever. These twins are definitely the most highly sought after crystal habit from this locality, and are unlike the specimens from well known localities such as Panasqueira, Portugal and Yaogangxian, China, which are just single blades.