Tephroite And Willemite Crystals - Franklin, NJ
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:4281597 | Country/Region of Manufacture: United States |
| Franklin Mineral Museum: Mineral crystals species |
A rare Franklin classic. This is a fine example of a Franklin classic of tephroite, a manganese silicate with zincite and willemite. This mineral specimen is a mix of four mineral species. Here we have one of the more rarer types of tephroite as crystals from the Franklin mine. The Sterling Mine is the type locality of tephroite and was named in 1823 by Johann Friedrich August Breithaupt from Greek τεφροζ "tephros" = ash-colored, alluding to the usual gray color of the mineral su...ch as this example. The most obvious mineral species are the minute, but abundant tephroite crystals, many are transparent with adamantine prismatic forms and a pronounced blue-gray color under daylight lighting. The magnified photographs of the tephroite crystals show up as a raspberry pink because of the alexandrite color effect. The change of color shows the color change is due to warmer incandescent light. The tephroite makes up a good portion of the matrix.Next is the willemite which is a pale green and has an adamantine luster with numerous well formed elongate, striated, transparent crystals. Willemite was named after King Willem of the Netherlands from the locality at the Moresnet (Plombières-Altenberg-Moresnet) mining district, Verviers, Liège Province, Belgium. This species was previously discovered in 1825 and was identified as "siliceous oxyde of zinc" by Lardner Vanuxem and William Hypolitus Keating. At the time, "siliceous oxyde of zinc" was a synonym of electric calamine, now known as hemimorphite. The willemite does fluoresce a bright green under shortwave (254nm) ultraviolet light.Next are grains and sections of black, metallic franklinite. Lastly is an unknown dull, orange groups of crystals situated in the middle of the specimen. These MAY be caryopilite but this has not been verified. This is a splendid micromount specimen and the magnification will reveal a treasure of well formed crystals of tephroite.Dimensions are as a micromount. Please note the centimeter cube and inch bar for scale.From the Franklin Mine, Franklin, NJ.The previous collection this specimen was in is #1 and is unknown.#1 is the museum's Collection Sale number previously offered in the museum shop.>>> We do COMBINED SHIPPING for multiple items. To request an invoice from us that combines shipping ALWAYS click the Add to cart button in eBay to add items until you are done. DO NOT PROCEED to checkout, rather go click the Request Total from Seller button. <<< === There is an instructional video on how to request combined shipping is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvDe7Fg7R4Q === All potential buyers need to be aware of the fact being able to view fluorescent minerals requires an ultraviolet light. Most of the minerals from the Franklin and Sterling Hill zinc mining district fluoresce under shortwave ultraviolet light. The shortwave wavelength is 254nm or otherwise known as UV C. Always read the description carefully to determine if the main mineral of interest for a particular specimen will fluoresce. There are several available brands and models of ultraviolet lights on eBay and other online sources. For further information on ultraviolet light and fluorescent minerals, copy and paste and go to >>> geology.com/articles/fluorescent-minerals.>>>> We Buy Collections <<<<DISCLAIMER: Every reasonable effort was made to accurately identify the mineral specie(s) noted in each specimen. The occasional label from previous collection(s) may misidentify some species and the current title and description here reflects the latest mineral specie(s) identification. There may or may not be any fluorescent mineral specie(s) present in this specimen. A fluorescent photograph may not have been included for a number of reasons. Chief among these are; there may not be any fluorescence in this particular specimen. If there are fluorescent specie(s) it is considered minor and not the particular specie(s) of note in this particular specimen. Another reason not including a fluorescent photograph is the mineral species may be too weak to successfully record even with modern photographic technology and with photo-enhancement. If there was such a fluorescent species present in this specimen, it would be noted in the descriptive text. A modest effort was made to depict a fluorescent specimen accurately as possible, but some overexposure should be expected in some photographs to compensate for a weak response of a fluorescent specimen.--- All photographs appearing on this listing or any other Franklin Mineral Museum listing are the property of the Franklin Mineral Museum. Photographs can be used strictly for personal use only. Otherwise the photographs posted here are protected by U.S. Copyright Laws, and are not to be downloaded or reproduced for public use or distribution in any way without the written permission of the Franklin Mineral Museum. ---
