Hematite with Rutile (ex Perkins Sams and Houston Museum Collections)

Item Description

Arguably the most iconic species from the Swiss Alps is Hematite. The world-class specimens from the famous Cavradischlucht are some of the finest examples of the species in the world, especially when they are associated with Rutile. This wonderful small cabinet display specimen featuring notably sharp, highly lustrous (splendent), brilliant metallic grey colored blades of Hematite measuring up to 3.3 cm across which are associated with gorgeous blood red Rutile crystals which are epitaxially growing on the front faces. The matrix is most mostly Quartz with a bit of intergrown white Albite. Now the piece is not without damage, as you can see from the photos. Sadly, several of the Hematite crystals are contacted, along with the Quartz crystals, and there is an odd saw mark on the left side of the piece. With that said, these are still classics, and the provenance of the piece certainly increases the value. If the piece was completely undamaged, I could see it priced around $5,000 retail but the imperfections obviously make it significantly less. The specimen hails from the famous collection of noted oil and energy businessman, Perkins Sams who in 1978 spent $6 million and in just a few years built one of the great mineral collections in the world. His collection was later obtained by the Houston Museum. The label accompanying this piece is from the Houston Museum with Ann (Perkins' wife) and P. D. Sams names on it.