Sphalerite (rare color for the locality)

Item Description

Typically the Sphalerites from the Shuikoushan Mine in China show a variation of some kind or red hue, but this piece shows a distinctly greenish-golden color when the crystals are strongly backlit. The crystals are complex and highly modified, and the piece is not only largely damage-free (only a few small imperfections that I can see), but it's crystallized on all sides, making it nearly a complete "floater". A patch of stubby little colorless Quartz crystal make for a nice contrast on the piece. The rare color for the locality combined with the intricate crystallization makes this a very desirable specimen for any Chinese mineral "completionist".
From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#343 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.