Scheelite on Schorl Tourmaline (RARE association for the locality)

Item Description

The Pingwu Mine is one of the China's premier specimen localities. This big tungsten-tin-beryllium deposit, has produced some of the most iconic examples of Scheelite in the world, and I think most people would agree that the top pieces are the best Scheelites ever found. Typically the Scheelites are seen in association with minerals like Beryl or Cassiterite, and typically form on a matrix coated with Muscovite Mica. THIS piece however is an INCREDIBLY rare example as it features Scheelite on Schorl Tourmaline, and while neither species is considered rare worldwide, the combination of the two of them together, especially from this mine, is ridiculously hard to find. I can't having another one from this locality to offer in the auctions, so if you collect Chinese minerals, Tungsten minerals, or oddball association specimens, do NOT miss out on this one. The piece hosts a predominant, sharp, well-formed, pseudo-octahedral (tetragonal pyramidal) crystal of very pale golden colored Scheelite measuring 1.4 cm, with a few accenting Scheelites, sitting atop thin, prismatic, jet-black Schorl Tourmaline matrix. I can see a small amount of silvery-beige Muscovite blades on the lower right back corner of the piece, but no other minerals are present. Like most Scheelites, this one shows a bright blue-white fluorescence under SW UV light.
This one is rare folks, you're not likely to see another, so do not miss out because I can promise we don't have a second one to offer (at least for now). This was honestly a highly pleasant surprise when I looked up the piece in Kurt's collection catalogue, because I honestly didn't suspect it could be from Pingwu, but I honestly shouldn't have been surprised as Kurt's collection was diverse and eclectic, and he had several unique specimens like this. It's impossible to ascertain a fair market value for something like this, because it almost has nothing for comparison, so I will stress that if you have an interest in this kind of material, this might be the only time we have one to offer in the auctions.
From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#940 C), a well-known German collector all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started collecting seriously at the age of 14 and his great and varied worldwide collection reached over 6000 pieces. He was very active mineralogically until shortly before his passing in 2020 at the age of 82. Considering his collection had a large number of pieces, it still had an unusually high standard of quality from most worldwide localities. He particularly specialized in all classics as well as minerals of the Black Forest, where he spent much time collecting. His Black Forest and German subcollections went to his good friend Wolfgang Wendel. We at The Arkenstone have the privilege of offering the remainder of this great worldwide collection through our various platforms.