Lepidolite (excellent crystal)

Item Description

This is a fine quality and showy specimen of Lepidolite Mica from the famous Pederneira Mine in Brazil. This piece is a well-formed, thick, hexagonal, layered, pinkish-purple crystal with no matrix, and a light coating of Albite on few faces. Excellent condition overall, with no major damage, outside of the bottom of the specimen where it was removed from the pocket wall. I love the fact that it shows such wonderful hexagonal form, best seen when viewed down the "c" axis. This piece dates back about 20-25 years to the late 1990s - early 2000s and is certainly one of the best individual Lepidolite crystals I've ever seen from the locality. For reference, Lepidolite is no longer an actual species, and is defined as a series between Polylithionite and Trilithionite, but without a true species designation. From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio. Collection #13278. This husband and wife duo were actively involved in the mineral world for many decades. Bill was a PhD geologist, and Anne was a mathematician, and they both were very serious mineral collectors. Bill served for many years as adjunct curator of mineralogy at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the Micromounters' Hall of Fame on October 12, 2019. Both Bill and Anne, at various times, served as president both of the Mineralogical Society of Cleveland and of the Micromineral Society of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the mi The rare barium lithium beryllium phosphate Wilancookite was named in their honor in 2015. The piece originally came from Lambert Minerals in Canada.