Rutile var: Sagenite pseudomorph after Hematite (RARE)

Item Description

The famous Cavradischlucht (Cavradi Gorge) is a well-known locality in Swiss Alps. It is undoubtedly one of the premier localities in the world for Hematite specimens, which are often associated with Rutile. This piece is a rarely seen, fine quality thumbnail from this prestigious locality featuring gorgeous reddish-brown to sandy-golden colored needles of Rutile (variety: Sagenite) which have pseudomorph after a thin bladed crystal of Hematite. It should be noted that "Sagenite" Rutile most often forms in these tightly intergrown "star"-shaped twins, where the crystals always intersect at 60° and 120° respectively. The accompanying label from Kay Robertson states that the original bladed crystal was Ilmenite, but I can't find a mention of Ilmenite being found at Cavradi, so I'm going with the safer assumption that they were originally Hematite. The piece is crystallized on both sides, and the Rutile crystals look beautiful up close. Additionally, there is an added bit of rarity, as a small (1 mm±) dark golden colored crystal of Monazite-(Ce) can be seen under magnification, along with a tiny dark brown rhomb of Siderite for a nice touch. We've photographed the piece with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality. A beautiful, rare and fine quality piece for anybody who collects thumbnails, rarities, pseudomorphs or specimens from the European Alps.
From the collection of Brian Kosnar, and as mentioned, originally from the collection of Kay Robertson (#10174).