This is a beautifully-proportioned high quality small cabinet specimen of cassiterite from the Viloco Mine, one of the world’s most famous localities for cassiterite crystals. The largest crystal is twinned, with excellent lustrous termination faces and re-entrants. The featured twin is pristine and measures 3.1 cm and there are small nicks on a couple of crystals at the periphery.

This specimen didn’t want its photo taken. Clearly I prevailed, but this is one of those pieces with a lot going on, and it needed a few shots to convey all that is special about it. The first photograph is taken from the main viewing angle and captures the overall aesthetic form and proportions (and it stands perfectly this way). However, in this photograph the lights over-emphasize the internal browns compared to what you see in person – the crystals look black and lustrous in person, and the fourth and fifth photographs convey the colour and look the best. The second photo is rotated around a little to the right, showing the main twin as it appears when viewed from the display angle. And yet there is more to this twin than comes across from the front and the lustre at the termination is fantastic, so I took the third photograph from the top of the twin, looking down. The fourth photo is also from above, and the fifth is from the main viewing angle, slightly from the left. Hopefully the photographs together convey why I love this twin! This is a super twinned cassiterite.