Ilmenite (fine old classic)

Item Description

Ilmenite is an uncommon iron titanium oxide, named for the Ilmenite Mountains (Ilmen Nature Reserve) in Russia where it was first discovered. The specimens from this area are some of the most iconic examples of the species ever found. This piece is a wonderful old-time example with several great pedigree labels including one from noted rarities dealer Joe Vajdak, along with Luis Leite (the namesake for the rare species Leiteite), along with two other hand-written labels from undisclosed collections. Vajdak's label is keen to point out that this area is a famous old Dana locality, mentioned in the early days of mineral literature for its significance in Dana's System of Mineralogy.
This piece is a beautiful toenail sized example of this old classic material featuring "rosette"-style blades which measure up to about 1.2 cm across, along with thicker more defined trigonal crystals, all showing a deep metallic quality on the surface. Very little damage to the key crystals, but the piece is contacted around the periphery where it was removed from the pocket wall. It is rare in my experience to find two distinctly different habits of crystals on the same specimen such as this.