Microcline (ex Bob Reynolds Collection)

Item Description

A rarely seen single blocky crystal of cream colored Microcline from the famous Little Three Mine in San Diego County, California. Now the piece is labeled as Orthoclase, and the species is reported from the Little Three, but this really looks like Microcline to me, as it appears to be triclinic, not orthorhombic. The piece features several wonderful, smooth, well-formed faces with good luster, but it's not a complete crystal, as it's contacted on the back. With that said, it's still a very good example of the material, as you almost never see single crystals of Feldspar from this mine. Additionally, most of the Feldspar crystals from the Little Three are somewhat etched and dull, but this one is lustrous and un-etched. From the collection of Robert (Bob) Reynolds (#RR0055) who passed in August of 2020. Bob was a well-known fossil and mineral expert and former Curator of Earth Sciences at the San Bernardino County Museum in California. The rare phyllomanganate-chromate species Reynoldsite was named in his honor in 2011.