Quartz (var: Smoky) (rare Tessin Habit for the locality) (ex Al Kidwell Collection)

Item Description

The Diamantina area in Brazil is well-known for producing superb crystallized Quartz specimens, in varying habits and styles. This piece is a rarely seen, fine quality crystal of sharp, lustrous, well-formed, Smoky Quartz featuring the rarely seen Tessin habit for the locality. The "spear-point" shape and lustrous, striated tapered rhombohedral faces are a textbook example of the habit (which is also called Ticino, Pennine or Binntal Habit). The piece is crystallized all the way around, and at first I thought it was broken on the base where it was removed from the pocket wall, but I looked at it with a loupe and found there are tiny re-crystallized faces, so the piece is healed ("re-healed") on the bottom! Great quality all around and very showy, very minor imperfections can be seen up close. Valued at $2,500. From the worldwide mineral collection of Albert (Al) Lewis Kidwell (January 1, 1919 - August 16, 2008). Al was a well-known mineral collector and research geologist with Carter Oil Company and later Exxon Oil Company in Houston, Texas. The phosphate species Kidwellite was named in his honor in 1974. The label accompanying this specimen states that it was obtained in 1977.