Description

From the contemporary classic occurrence at Novo Horizonte, this hematite crystal is a black mirror. Incredible lustre and sharpness. This is not a thin plate of hematite – it has a bit of thickness and dimension to it, with a particularly prominent pyramidal face (not Photoshopped…). One area of epitactic golden rutile on the display-side termination and more on the back. Small rutile crystals are also present at the top (as I would display it) and what is particularly great about them is that they are sharply terminated – the one, a bit rubbed, has a clearly visible blocky tetragonal shape to it, which is very unusual for Novo Horizonte rutile. In excellent condition, there is no damage to the upper portions of the crystal – at the bottom, the crystal has a slightly irregular outline but is actually naturally complete save for a nick, and at lower left there is an obvious chip in the front-facing pinacoid face. This is a great hematite crystal!

If you’re a purist about mineral photographs, apologies for the fourth photo for illustrating what a mirror this is… but if it’s any consolation, the text is from a classic (Pough’s Field Guide, 4th ed, 1976).