Precious Opal in Rhyolite (ex Bill and Anne Cook Collection)

Item Description

Here we have a lovely specimen of Precious Opal from the Mezezo Opal Occurrence in Ethiopia. The piece features a chocolate-brown patch of Precious Opal sitting in a nodule of Rhyolite matrix. When the Opal is rotated in the light, it shows attractive multi-color flashes of red, orange, gold and green. This piece started out as a semi-spherical ball of rhyolite, which contains gemmy Opal in the center, and was cracked open to expose the beauty within. An eye-catching Opal specimen with pleasing color flashes. From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio. 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.