Hematite ("iron roses") (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

The Swiss Alps are best known for their superb Quartz specimens and the best Hematites from anywhere in Europe. This piece is a very attractive miniature featuring good quality "iron roses" of Hematite on matrix. The largest "rose" measures 8 mm across and are composed of individual metallic silvery-grey colored Hematite blades which are sitting on typical matrix. There is a small paper arrow attached to the piece, which according to the label points to what might possibly be Cafarsite(?). I looked at the spot under the microscope and I don't believe it's Cafarsite, but I also can't say definitively what it might be. A lovely old classic specimen of this world-famous material from Switzerland, so if you've ever wanted a nice Hematite "rose", don't pass this one up. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#993). 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).