Vesuvianite ex. Lauf Coll.

Item Description

These sharp green vesuvianites are known from only a few pockets of quality in the old Asbestos mine in Quebec, and this rather large example is a fine display piece with crystals to about 2 cm. The color is due to trace amounts of chromium, and the specimens tend to be miniature sized and smaller. This is a really large plate, 437 grams, of solid vesuvianite with sparkle and color, acquired from an older collection (Eric greene) in 2008.Valued at $4-5000, this specimen is from the author's own collection and is a cover of the important reference series mineral monograph books, Collector's Guide to the Vesuvianite group, by Dr. Bob Lauf. Robert Lauf grew up in Chicago and attended the University of Illinois, ultimately receiving a Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering. His scientific career included over twenty years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he conducted research on topics ranging from nuclear fuel, coal by-products, materials synthesis, microwave processing, sensors, optical materials, and biomineralization. This item comes with a copy of the corresponding book, as shown.