Green Spodumene var: Hiddenite (5-crystal set)

Item Description

Spodumene has been found in many world localities in a good range of colors, but green is probably the most difficult to obtain. Going back around 40+ years ago, some very attractive green Spodumenes (sometimes referred to as Hiddenite) were found around Governador Valadares. Here we have a wonderful 5-crystal set of these attractive gem crystals with the classic green hue. The total weight of all 5 crystals is 20.1 grams. All of the crystals have even / consistent color with good internal gemminess and they show a richer green hue when viewed down the "c" axis, like virtually all Spodumene crystals. A beautiful set of these classic and desirable Hiddenites.
There has been a debate as to whether or not Hiddenite can only be used to refer to the chromium or vanadium bearing varieties of green Spodumene, but a brief paragraph on mindat states that any green Spodumene can be referred to as Hiddenite. From mindat.org: "Hiddenite was not originally defined by Kunz as has been sometimes claimed. Smith (1881) did state: "I have employed all the necessary care in examining for chromium, but have found no indication of its presence." Smith tried to verify the presence of vanadium, but could only conclude that his qualitative results would have been similar to either vanadium or chromium. Smith does indicate that his hiddenite varied from pale green to emerald green, "though the color is not so intense as in the finest variety of the latter gem." Colorless or yellow spodumene should not be referred to as Hiddenite. Green spodumene that is photosensitive and not permanently color stable is not hiddenite."
This set 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.