Wiluite superb crystal, ex Steve Smale Collection

Item Description

Wiluite is a rare calcium-magnesium-titanium borosilicate of the Vesuvianite Group found only at a few localities worldwide and this piece is from the type locality! This specimen features large, sharp, lustrous, dark green, translucent, tetragonal dipyramidal prismatic crystals on a porphyry matrix. All three Wiluite crystals exhibit green to dark olive green internal reflections as a result of their translucency! At 4.1cm in length and 2.3cm in width, the main crystal is huge and an excellent example for the species. It is accompanied by a 2.4cm crystal and a partial 2cm crystal. The well placed trio of crystals, of this rare and unusual species, makes for a well composed specimen of competitive level, as it would have to be given how discriminating a collector Steve Smale is known to be! This is surely one of the finest small cabinet pieces known! Ex. Steven and Clara Smale collection with label. Old specimen from the 1990s, unavailable in such quality today. valued $2000-2500 as this is absolutely top quality for this mineral (until the 2000s it was thought to be a vesuvianite, but then determined to be a new vald species).