Hematite pseudomorph after Siderite on Smoky Quartz (ex Bob Reynolds and Kay Robertson Collections)

Item Description

The Pikes Peak area of Colorado is synonymous with some of the most magnificent Amazonite specimens in the world. There aren't many species associated with the Amazonite, mostly Quartz, Albite, Fluorite and sometimes Hematite. The majority of the Hematite specimens from the Lake George area are often found as pseudomorphs after Siderite. This particular specimen features good sized, remarkably sharp, rhombic crystals of what used to be Siderite, but have been completely replaced/pseudomorphed by silvery-black Hematite aesthetically sitting atop prismatic dark Smoky Quartz crystals sitting atop pinkish-beige Feldspar matrix. The pseudomorphs are is undamaged as far as I can tell, and the largest one measures 1.6 cm, which is decent sized for the material. From the collection of Robert (Bob) Reynolds who passed in August of 2020. Bob was a well-known fossil and mineral expert and former Curator of Earth Sciences at the San Bernardino County Museum in California. The rare phyllomanganate-chromate species Reynoldsite was named in his honor in 2011. Originally the specimen was part of the collection of Kay Robertson (#5092). Kay was 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).