Schorl with Cleavelandite & Quartz ex Smale and Halpern

Item Description

This is an old specimen indeed, one of the first treasures of crystallized minerals to come out from the Paksitani market to the West, and then to prominent collector Steve Smale in Berkeley. Steve later sold it to his friend Jack, who lives across the bay in San Francisco. It retains the oldest surviving label of Steve and Clara, that I have seen preserved (1970s vintage)! The piece has a spectacularly formed termination, as you can see, with a really tricky pseudo-triangular appearance that makes you think it is actually a real triangle up there. This specimen is complete alla round, and represents a special black-on-white combo that we seldom see. It also represents the earliest production of this region that later became one of th emos timportant mineral provinces for specimens, on Earth. The piece is cleaned only with water, and has never been to a modern lab in 50 years, yet it is fairly shiny and lustrous just on merit. It is complete all around and looks good from several angles, so we could not even decide easily what should be the front - that is for you! Anyways, even among so many modern pieces from Pakistan, this piece still stands out for a special and aesthetic presentaiton, and that amazing termination. We are truly honored to present this specimen from another lot of deaccessions from the collection of Jack Halpern of San Francisco, as featured in the Mineralogical Record, March 2005.