Rutile on Quartz (famous find) ex Rippere

Item Description

Although now almost impossible to find on the market, there were at one time a number of these available in the mid-1990s, mined by the crew of a colorful ex-KGB colonel-turned-mineral-dealer. I have not had a good one back in years. This was a fine, very highly rated miniature which I sold back in the late 1990s and got back recently. It features a crystal of 3 cm across, perched smartly atop crystallized quartz matrix. The association, and the quality of these lustrous rutiles, made them instantly wanted by the top collectors at the time. And none were found since, seemingly. This crystal is doubly-terminated and complete all around; save only a shallow contact groove in the upper-rear side, not seen from the display face in any case. Joe Budd photos This was a major specimen for a miniature of the species, from the collection of Ken Rippere. He collected competition-level miniatures and here again, for the size, it is about as good as you can get! He had good taste and good access - he was a college friend of legendary dealer Bill Larson, and these came into the USA through Bill back in the 1990s, as he got ahold of them through contacts in the Russian gem world where he was brokering and mining demantoid garnet at the time. Valued $2750.