Topaz (GEM crystal) (ex Bill and Anne Cook Collection)

Item Description

A fine quality sherry colored Topaz crystal from the elevated mountain mines above Yuno in the Shigar Valley of Pakistan. This piece is a sharp, well-formed, GEM QUALITY crystal with lustrous, defined faces. Minor roughness on the termination, and the lower portion of the crystal has a separation mark where the piece was removed from the pocket wall. From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio. 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.