Quartz var: Smoky (Elestial / Skeletal) with Fluorite and Calcite

Item Description

While there are hundreds of mineral species found at the Poudrette Quarry (Demix Quarry), you don't see a lot of Quartz specimens on the market. For such a common species, it's fairly hard to find from MSH. I will point out that the label accompanying this specimen refers to it as, "Remarkable because loc(ality) is silica poor". This piece is a fine quality crystal of elestial / skeletal Smoky Quartz with sharp, well-formed, lustrous faces and a deep almost "Morion" color, though it does show a deep amber hues when backlit, which plays host to little colorless crystals of Fluorite, which show a light yellow fluorescence under SW UV light, and a few off-white colored crystals of Calcite that fluoresce pink under SW UV light. Some of the Fluorites feature an attractive rainbow iridescence as well for a nice touch (see photos). The Quartz crystal is actually doubly-terminated, and nearly complete all around, with only a few small point of contact on the back. A really intersting and eye-catching specimen from one of the greatest mineral localities on Earth.
From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio (#13679). 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. The rare barium lithium beryllium phosphate Wilancookite was named in their honor in 2015.