Rutile on iridescent Hematite with Calcite (ex Kay Robertson and Collection)

Item Description

One of the great classic of all the European Alps are the famous Rutile crystals epitaxially overgrowing Hematite from the famous Cavradischlucht (Cavradi Gorge). These specimens are iconic, and not to be confused with the classic "iron rose" Hematites from St Gotthard in the Ticino Canton of Switzerland. This piece is an excellent example of the Cavradi material featuring very sharp, rather lustrous (splendent), metallic hexagonal blades is a slightly layered growth which play host to blood red crystals of Rutile. The Hematite crystals actually show a slight iridescence, which is not unheard of for the material, and is usually caused by oxidation. The Hematite / Rutile group measures 1.3 cm across and sits beautifully on the small bit of matrix. Perhaps the most significant aspect to the piece is the fact that it is associated with scalenohedral CALCITE, which is actually very hard to find in this material. No damage of note (one of the Calcites has a small cleave on the termination) and just beautiful for what it is. It's hard to find good thumbnails of this material, especially on matrix, and if you know Swiss Hematites, I'm sure you can appreciate the great aesthetics of this piece with the rare Calcite association. Ex Kay Robertson Collection. Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017).