Hübnerite (gemmy) with Fluorite and Quartz

Item Description

Here we have an attractive association specimen from one of the most famous classic Peruvian localities. Some of the finest examples of Hübnerite are those from the Huallypon Mine, as they are not only larger than most other examples you'll find, but they are often GEMMY, featuring intense red hues internally. This piece hosts a fairly thick, doubly-terminated, prismatic crystal of Hübnerite measuring 3.7 cm, with an almost chatoyant velvety luster (due to a bit of surface etching) aesthetically sitting atop a matrix of colorless, lustrous, prismatic Quartz crystals and the final touch is a 2.7 cm, modified octahedral crystal of translucent colorless Fluorite flaring off the side. A few smaller Hübnerites can be seen on the piece as well, but it's the big crystal that draws the eye, and when strongly backlit, you can see a deep fiery red color inside. No real damage as far as I can see with the naked eye, and the piece is nearly a "floater" as it's crystallized almost all the way around, with only one small point of attachment on the back. A wonderful example of this hard to find material that came out over 40 years ago.
From the collection of the well-known mineral dealer and collector Richard ("Rich") A. Kosnar (1946-2007) from Colorado. Rich was one of the first US mineral dealers to visit the Huallypon Mine in the 1970s, and started importing minerals from Peru from that point forward.