Monazite-(Ce) (fine twin) (ex Charlie Key Collection)

Item Description

An exceptionally large, well-formed and beautiful twinned Monazite-(Ce) specimen with sharp, lustrous face and crystallization all the way around, front and back. This twin has well-formed faces and a gemmy reddish-orange interior when backlit. It does appear that the crystals are included with a tan clay or mica species, but there are still a few "wings" of the twin that stick out and look nice in good light. Monazite-(Ce) is a REE phosphate and this piece exhibits textbook twinning on {100}. Twins of this size and quality are rare to be sure. The piece is from the 1980's find of great floater crystals from the Joaqim Relicio Mine at Buenopolis in Minas Gerais. This piece is from the personal collection of the famous mineral dealer, Charlie Key, the namesake for TWO mineral species; Keyite and Ludlockite.