Vesuvianite (classic material)

Item Description

Swiss Alpine minerals are among the most desirable and high quality examples of their respective species. The famed old-time Vesuvianites from the Rimpfischwäng Mountain Range north of the Findel Glacier near Zermatt, Switzerland are highly sought after by collectors for their impressive size, quality and color. This showy miniature hosts a multitude of very sharp, highly lustrous, prismatic crystals of deep reddish-brown colored Vesuvianite measuring up to 1.0 cm long, free of matrix. When backlit, you can see some small areas of internal gemminess in some of the crystals, highlighted by little spots of reflective color. Overall the piece is in good condition, though there are a few contacts, so it's not 100% pristine, but that's more than forgivable for such a high quality example of these important old classics. This is quite possibly the best example of this historic material that we've ever had to offer.
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 950. Jack was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the world encompassing over 3,200 specimens with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece. He admired specimens of all sizes from thumbnails to large cabinets and the vast majority of them rank from fine to world-class in their quality.
Above all else, Jack is considered to be the greatest gentleman in the modern era of mineral collecting. He is beloved by all those who have met him, and he truly is one of the most iconic figures in the mineral world. We recently acquired Jack's collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality pieces for their collections. We are honored to have the opportunity to offer Jack's treasures to everyone on a regular basis in the auctions.
We encourage you to read our blog post at https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection or his profile on the Mineralogical Record website https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/halpernjack/ for more information