Titanite (twins) with Adularia (ex Francesco Bedogne Collection)

Item Description

From the world famous Wanni Glacier (right along the Swiss / Italian border high in the Alps) here we have a classic and hard to find near full cabinet sized matrix display specimen featuring gorgeous green color, slender, "wedge"-shaped twinned crystals of sharp, lustrous Titanite associated with pseduo-rhombic crystals of "Adularia" (K-Feldspar) on host rock matrix. The vast majority of the Titanites are completely undamaged, and the fact that they are free-standing on the matrix is a big deal, as they usually are found lying flat from most Alpine localities. Keep in mind since this is a SWISS specimen, it carries a bit more weight / value on the market, as the Swiss specimens are typically always more expensive than their Italian, French and Austrian counterparts. Additionally, it's very difficult to get these specimens out of Europe as the best pieces are immediately scooped up and rarely find their way to the U.S. market. Perhaps more importantly, the crystals on this specimen are LARGE for the locality, as most are only a few mm, and good display specimens like this are seldom available. Valued at $1850. From the worldwide collection of famed Italian mineral collector, field collector and author, Francesco Bedogne of Sondrio, Italy (Collection #1279). Bedogne wrote dozens of articles and several books about the mineralogy of Italian Alpine localities such as Val Bregaglia, Val Masino, Val Codera, Val Spluga, Valtellina and the famous Val Malenco. He was also the founder of the Valtellinese Mineralogical Institute.