large Rutile crystal (rare locale) ex Hauck

Item Description

A highly lustrous, deep wine-red, Rutile crystal from the famous, and remote, Champion Mine of Mono County, California. The deep red color has flashes of red fire, and the luster is excellent. So good, in fact, that the reflections easily show the very fine textures on many of the faces. Almost too much luster! There is a bit of contacting, but that is to be expected on a single such as this. This rare, prismatic Rutile is not from the more common Georgia location of Graves Mountain, but from the Champion Mine. Tucked high in the California mountains, the mine was essential in the mining of ore for the making of spark plugs (hence Champion Spark Plugs for those with an interest in history and industry!). Little was produced in the way of specimens, except those garnered by a few intrepid collectors. From the noted historic classics collection of Richard 'Dick' Hauck of New Jersey. LARGE at 62 grams