Spinel (large ''floater'' twin)

Item Description

Here we have a classic example of the beloved, world-class twinned Spinel crystals from Mogok, Myanmar. This piece is a notably sharp, sharp, lustrous, well-formed octahedral twinned crystal (a genuine Spinel-law twin) of beautiful deep red color. The piece is a complete "floater", crystallized on all sides, and has beautiful textural etching patterns on all sides, but still shows shiny reflective luster. It shows a very well-defined twin line / plane, and looks good from either side. When strongly backlit, you can see there is a some internal gemminess with a rich fiery red color, which is really noteworthy as Spinel crystals of this thickness will typically be opaque! PLEASE NOTE: All mining at Mogok is at a complete standstill. The combination of the political upheaval in Myanmar and the COVID pandemic have left the area abandoned, and it is unclear when or if mining will again resume. Now we are getting confirmed reports that the small amount of material that is available is selling for much more than a few years ago, and even if mining resumes at any level, it is likely that the price of fine minerals from Myanmar will certainly rise well beyond what we were used to seeing in the past. If you collect minerals from Myanmar, pick these up fast while they are still available, because good pieces will be hard to find for a while it seems. I previously had this piece priced at $2,500 in the inventory, but based upon everything that's happening, it's unquestionably worth more in today's market for size, color and quality. Specimen weight is 87.05 grams.