Lepidolite with Indicolite Tourmaline and Cookeite

Item Description

A big showy display specimen featuring an impressive "rose"-esque crystal group of pseudo-metallic, light silvery-beige colored (with a slight hint of lilac overtones) "Lepidolite" which play host to a few gemmy, dark blue, Indicolite Tourmaline crystals measuring up to 2.4 cm, and partially coated by micro crystals light yellow colored Cookeite Mica. One of the Tourmalines is partially "bent", due to the fact that it was broken underground during its formation, and managed to mostly stay in place against the "Lepidolite", creating a form that is not unheard of for Tourmaline, but rarely seen, especially on matrix pieces. The other Tourmaline group on the other side is unfortunately broken on the termination, but it does show rich blue color when backlit. A cool combo piece with the rare feature of two different kind of Mica on the same specimen. Please note that Lepidolite is no longer a valid mineral species, and is defined as a mineral in the so-called Polylithionite-Trilithionite series. With that said, nearly every one still calls these specimens Lepidolite, and probably will until a more correct name is designated for it. From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio (#7932) with a few additional dealer and collectors labels. 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.