Description

This is a spectacular specimen of rutile in and on quartz. The front of this piece has two polished quartz faces through which one can see exquisite lattices of rutile crystals, and the rest of this side of the piece is actually rutile crystal lattices on top of quartz surfaces, with natural (unpolished) quartz faces and tips poking through here and there. The rutile is sharp and at the right angle it catches the light with brilliant lustre. The first two photos are illuminated to reflect off the rutile crystals all at once – the third photo is more representative of the appearance of the piece in average light, catching a reflection in one direction.

The rutile crystal lattices under the polished surfaces are quite three-dimensional and very intricate – with magnification you can lose yourself in here happily for quite a while. The close-up photos 4, 5 and 6 are included rutile crystals below a surface of polished quartz, while the 7th and 8th photos are of rutile crystals on an open natural surface of the quartz.

The sides and back of the piece are also polished – included hematite crystals are visible from the back. This piece stands perfectly for display as in the first photograph. A beautiful specimen from the John S. White collection.