Spodumene var: Kunzite (doubly-terminated "floater")

Item Description

A good sized, classic, doubly-terminated, gemmy crystal of beautiful pink Kunzite from Afghanistan. The piece is not only doubly-terminated, but actually MULTI-terminated as one end has a broad "roman sword"-shaped termination, and the other end has dozens of small "teeth"-like terminations. These little "teeth"-like terminations formed when the crystal was detached from the pocket wall during formation and ended up healing ("re-healing") itself while it finished growing. With that said, it's complete all the way around making it a "floater". The crystal have a medium lilac-pinkish color when viewed on the "a" axis, but when viewed down the "c" axis, you can see a more vibrant pink hue. The luster is good on all sides which plays nicely against the broad etched / striated prism faces. Everybody is familiar with Kunzite, but there truly are only a few places on earth where good crystals are found in any quantity (San Diego County, California; Minas Gerais, Brazil and Nuristan, Afghanistan). Weight is 121.8 grams.
From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio (#2913). This husband and wife duo were actively involved in the mineral world for many decades. Bill was a PhD geologist, and Anne was a mathematician, and they both were very serious mineral collectors. Bill served for many years as adjunct curator of mineralogy at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the Micromounters' Hall of Fame on October 12, 2019. Both Bill and Anne, at various times, served as president both of the Mineralogical Society of Cleveland and of the Micromineral Society of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the mi The rare barium lithium beryllium phosphate Wilancookite was named in their honor in 2015.