Titanite (2 ''floater'' twinned crystals)

Item Description

A pair of beautiful "floater" twinned crystals of Titanite from the Saranovskii Mine in the Polar Ural Mountains of Russia. Both the crystals are largely coated by pseudo-metallic, silvery sparkling "Chlorite", though one of them has some exposed / uncoated faces, showing a light tan hue. The twinning is well-defined and dramatic, with deep reentrant angles on both specimens. Seldom seen on the market today.
These pieces were formerly in the collection of William ("Bill") Pinch (August 15, 1940 - April 1, 2017) of Rochester, New York. Bill was one of the most knowledgeable and accomplished mineral collectors / amateur mineralogists of the 20th century, and he was the namesake for the rare mercury oxyhalide species, Pinchite. The prestigious Pinch medal, which is typically awarded at the Tucson Gem And Mineral Show by the Mineralogical Association of Canada is also named in his honor. You can read his bio at the following link ( http://www.williampinch.com/about ).