Hematite with epitaxial Rutile

Item Description

The famous Binntal (Binn Valley) in the Swiss Alps is one of the premier localities for Alpine mineral collectors. It has produced a good number of fine quality attractive minerals for a few hundred years. This piece is a nice little thumbnail from this prestigious locality featuring gorgeous reddish prismatic needles of Rutile (variety: Sagenite) which have epitaxially grown atop dark grey bladed Hematite crystals. The accompanying label from Kay Robertson states that this is a partial alteration from Hematite to Rutile, but this is chemically impossible, since there is not titanium in Hematite for Rutile to form. The only possible explanation is that the "Hematite" is actually Ilmenite, and it altered to Rutile, but I don't think that's the case. The Rutile crystals look beautiful up close, and we've photographed the piece with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality. A beautiful piece for anybody who collects thumbnails or specimens from the European Alps. Please note that the given locality was the "Gibelhorn", but I can't find a listing for this exact locality, so we're simply leaving it as coming from the Binntal.
From the collection of Brian Kosnar, and as mentioned, originally from the collection of Kay Robertson (#11110).