Quartz var: Amethyst (rare Cornish locality)

Item Description

While Amethyst is by no means rare, there are few places in Cornwall that produced fine crystallized specimens. The material can range from massive/microcrystalline banded Agate to partial crystalline seams to actual crystallized specimens, but they are few and far between. This piece is from the Wheal Jane, and features a solitary crystal with well-formed pyramidal faces that show a very slight "window" habit, as they are slightly skeletal at the surface (perhaps from etching?). The exterior hue is a soft purple/lilac shade, and the underside/interior of the crystal is stark white. Unfortunately the termination is dinged, so it's not 100% perfect, but it's still a very attractive and showy example of these seldom seen crystals from this well-known tin mine. The accompanying label states that the piece is from the Allen Dean Collection and also mentions that it is ex. Maurie Griss (sp?) and ex. Nick Carris (sp?) collections. The back of the label mentions the 15 level, south lode of the mine, perhaps where it was specifically found.
From the collection Dr. Robert ("Rob") Bowell, a geochemist and adjunct professor in Geochemistry and Mineralogy at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Rob has a background in applied geology in tropical and deeply weathered terrains, he also has done mining consulting in the fields of due diligence, financial and technical audits, process chemistry, environmental geochemistry, environmental engineering and mineralogy.