Sphalerite (gemmy red crystals)

Item Description

A fantastic big cabinet display piece this fine quality limited material from the Rucheng Mine in China dating back to the early 2000s. The superb color of this material, along with the fact that the crystals are larger than average and gemmy makes them incredibly desirable, especially because nothing has come out in many years. This piece is essentially solid Sphalerite, loaded with excellent crystals free of matrix. The largest crystal measures 3.5 cm. The crystals glow with intense fiery red color (with some small areas of golden hues) when backlit, and I can't find any damage of note on the top/display side of the piece. Very good quality for this discovery, and virtually unseen on the market today. Sphalerite has the distinction of being of one the few sulfide minerals that is actually transparent (think of a mineral like Pyrite or Galena that passes light{!}), and comes in a great range of colors, but RED specimens like this are rare, especially featuring such well-formed, euhedral crystals. Valued $4,000.
Ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection. Along with amassing one of the finest private mineral collections in the world, Steve is a renowned mathematician. His accomplishments include being awarded the Fields Medal in 1966 along with being the awarded the Wolf Prize in mathematics in 2007. You can read Steve's bio on the Mineralogical Record website ( https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/smalestephen/ ) or on Wikipedia.