Sphalerite (small gemmy crystals) (RARE locality specimen) (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

I realize it's unusual to say that a Sphalerite specimen is "rare", but after doing some research, I can't find another specimen of this material from Freiberg anywhere online. The piece is simply labeled as coming from "Freiberg, Saxony", so it's impossible to know specifically from which mine it was found, but I trust the label. With that said, if anybody out there has any specific information as to where this piece might have been found, please let us know. This small cabinet specimen hosts dozens upon dozens of razor-sharp, highly lustrous, small (about 2 mm) crystals of what might appear to be jet black Sphalerite crystals, but with a bit of backlighting, you can see they hold a deep golden resin / tawny color inside. The matrix is a massive chunk of reddish-brown Hematite, and the high iron content is what gives the Sphalerite crystals the dark hue. I had a great time viewing the specimen under the microscope, and we photographed the crystals with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality. A fantastic Sphalerite specimen for any fan of sulfides, Sphalerites or minerals of Freiberg. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#4646). Kay was a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics. She nearly lived 100 years from April 1920 - March 2020. See the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record ( https://www.mineralogicalrecord.com/pdfs/Kay%20Robertson%20Collection.pdf ), and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017.