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3D22 - Titanite - $ 450 SOLD Shigar Valley, near Skardu, Pakistan thumbnail, 3 x 2 x .8 cm ex. Marilyn Dodge
This is a classic twinned Titanite with excellent form, good to superb luster, and very good color. In person, the display view shows a much more lime green color than seen here. The intergrown crystal on the side is gem clear. Minor dings along the lower edges do not detract at all from the aesthetics of this piece. It is very stylish, elegantly displayed with a bit of attached matrix, and sharp!
4AA35 - Keilhauite - $ 200 SOLD Buø, Tromøysund, Arendal, Aust-Agder, Norway (TYPE LOCALITY) thumbnail, 2.3 x 2 x 1 cm
An extremely rare crystal of Keilhauite , an oddball Calcium Titanium Aluminum Iron Yttrium Silicate
BEM-35 - Titanite - $ 400 SOLD Renfrew, Ontario, Canada miniature, 5.2 x 4.2 x 3.0 cm
A twinned, 3.5-cm crystal perched on matrix, VERY fine for what it is! This is an old specimen ex. American Museum of Natural History
DTN19 - Titanite with Adularia - $ 950 SOLD Tormiq, Skardu, Gilgit, Pakistan thumbnail, 2.1 x 2 x 1.5 cm ex. Irv Brown
This is an absolutely exquisite mineral specimen of ANY species and such a balanced thumbnail it is amazing! Aesthetically perched on contrasting matrix, is a cluster of gemmy, yellow-green, lustrous, titanite crystals, including a twinned, doubly terminated 2.0 cm , glassy, titanite crystal. To top it off, there is even an .8 cm white, feldspar crystal, giving this specimen balance. This is so well composed, I thought it was glued together...its not. A unique gem crystal thumbnail good enough for any collection, and one of my favorites here.
ES23 - Titanite - $ 495 SOLD Dodo, Polar Urals, Russia miniature, 4.2 x 3.4 x 2.6 cm ex. Ernie Schlichter
Beautifully perched on matrix, is a splendid, lustrous, twinned titanite crystal almost 3 cm in length. The color is a rich brown, similar to the clove brown of axinite, also from this locality. Flanking the titanite on both sides are rosettes of crystallized calcite, grayish- white in color. At the base is a crust of mm size metallic, black crystals, possibly either chalcopyrite, or goethite. Great locality miniature for this important alpine species!.
gem7-21 - Sphene var. Titanite (twinned) - $ 9000 SOLD Campo do Boa Mine, Capelinha, Minas Gerais, Brazil small cabinet, 9.3 x 5.8 x 0.7 cm
This is a remarkable specimen from a new find, the best one of the lot I saw in Tucson, and it is a single large gem crystal showing exquisite twinning , size, and gemminess. The twinning is so sharp and tight that it looks almost like one face on the surface, except for a shallow groove in the middle of the top where you can see it is , actually, twinned. The gemminess and size are the best seen since finds from Capelinha over 15 years ago, although this is thinner and gemmier than those were. Overall, just very impressive! And, complete all around, undamaged.
GEMS-015 - Titanite (Sphene) from MEXICO - $ 325 Baja California, Mexico thumbnail, 8.4 x 7.6 mm ; 3.27 carats
Sometimes this species is referred to as "Sphene" but it is an outdated name and the correct name is Titanite though both are accepted in the gem and mineral world. It seems to me that more often it is referred to as "Sphene" in the gem world and Titanite is used for crystallized specimens. One of the great aspects of faceted Titanite is the high dispersion of the material. This gem has a deep greenish-golden color, and is a good sized stone for this material. The stone has a Square Emerald cut and is only very slightly included.
GEMS-079 - Titanite - $ 260 Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan thumbnail, 8.9 x 6.0 mm ; 1.31 carats
Recently, there was a very limited find of superb gem quality Titanite crystals in the Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan. These crystals were not terribly large, but a few of them were clean enough to yield fine quality gems. This particular stone is one of the best gems I have seen from this find, and would make a superb addition to any collection, especially a Titanite suite. It is amazingly eye clean, with a brilliant green-gold hue and a Pear” cut. A superb quality Titanite from this exciting new find.
GEMS-100 - Titanite (Sphene) - $ 900 Afghanistan thumbnail, 12.1 x 8.7 mm ; 4.48 carats
Sometimes this species is referred to as "Sphene", but it is an outdated name and the correct name is Titanite, though both are accepted in the gem and mineral world. It seems to me that more often it is referred to as "Sphene" in the gem world and Titanite in the mineral world. Sphene is from the Greek word sphenos which means wedge in allusion to the characteristic wedge-shaped crystals. Titanite alludes to the dark brown to black color of the original specimens which were very rich in Titanium. Faceted Sphene is a wonderful gemstone, rich in fire and with superb intense colors, and typically shows double refraction. This is a great size stone for the material. It is from a fairly new find in Afghanistan that has produced some impressive stones. It has a wonderful greenish-gold color, with only very slight inclusions and a nice Oval cut. Titanite has one of the highest refractive indices of almost any gem in the world. This gem reflects a variety of colors from red to orange to yellow.
K-158 - Sphene (twinned) - $ 1200 SOLD Gamsberg, Namibia miniature, 5.0 x 2.8 x 1.2 cm ex. Charlie Key
This is a superb, twinned, lustrous, and somewhat gemmy sphene from the Gamsberg mines known more for rutile than anything gemmy. It is very 3-dimensional and complete all around, and would be good even by Brazilian standards! But for Namibia, its even more a killer - and sitll competes even by worldwide standards! This twin is of a style more robust and thick, than the following piece....they really complement nicely an dI could discount 10% for the pair of them to keep them together.
K-159 - Sphene (twinned) - $ 950 SOLD Gamsberg, Namibia miniature, 5.3 x 2.3 x 2.1 cm ex. Charlie Key
This is a superb, twinned, lustrous, and somewhat gemmy sphene from the Gamsberg mines known more for rutile than anything gemmy. It is very 3-dimensional and complete all around, and would be good even by Brazilian standards! But for Namibia, its even more a killer - and sitll competes even by worldwide standards! This twin exhibits unusual symmetry, and in this regard is a bit different in aspect from the more "winged"-looking twins characteristic of Pakistan and Brazil. It has a few small bits of edge wear, but is really overall in fine shape.
LC47 - SPHENE (twinned) on PERICLINE (feldspar) - $ 6000 SOLD Leiterkogel, Habachtal, Pinzgau, Austria small cabinet, 8 x 6 x 5 cm ex. Robert Metger ex. Schwethelm
This is a fine old classic but also an aesthetic, well-balanced specimen for ANY sphene locality, featuring a DOUBLY-TERMINATED, PRISTINE, LUSTROUS, 4.5-CM-LONG CRYSTAL of translucent green TWINNED sphene perched on contrasting white matrix of pericline feldpsar - what more could you want in such an important European classic?!?! I've simply not seen such a nice piece in the US market, and have been assured that this is as significant as I think it is even for the European market where such old classics might more often resurface. It sits nicely on its own without need of a base, and when well lit is striking for beauty as well as for form. Frankly, this is the first European sphene I have had for sale that even remotely competes with contemporary specimens from Pakistan for aesthetics, size, and quality. It is unbelieveable! As I have said repeatedly, Leithauser REALLY had good taste and did not just buy classics to have them...he waited until the perfect aesthetic example of a "classic" came along, and only then got his piece. You'll see in the collection how few duplicates he had, because he really was after the stereotypical representation of a "classic," and seldom settled for anything less than a piece that exemplified everything you would want in an important old locality piece but ALSO had the aesthetics you'd demand in a contemporary specimen. This is one such.
MD-118009 - Titanite, Albite - - Archived Imilchil, High Atlas Mts, Er Rachidia Province, Meknès-Tafilalet Region, Morocco cabinet, 14.8 x 10.4 x 6.4 cm.
14.8 x 10.4 x 6.4 cm. A very showy CABINET specimen of gemmy and glassy green titanite crystals in clusters and as isolated crystals nicely set in contrasting off-white albite crystals from a recent and small find in the Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco. This is a highly representative and large piece from this find.
MD-118221 - Titanite - - Archived Senning gorge (Speibing gorge), Hollersbach valley, Hohe Tauern Mts, Salzburg, Austria miniature, 3.4 x 1.7 x 1.2 cm.
3.4 x 1.7 x 1.2 cm. Another rare piece out of the Wein Collection, acquired in 1967 according to the collection card (which comes with the piece). This is a complete crystal of titanite with a complete, gemmy termination with bright green color. It has textbook form for the species, and fine luster on the upper faces. A rare European oldie!
MD-118264 - Eudialyte, Titanite, Aegirine - - Archived Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja Oblast', Northern Region, Russia large cabinet, 15.7 x 8.1 x 5.9 cm.
15.7 x 8.1 x 5.9 cm. A very large and super-rich specimen of eudialyte from Russia. This is a relatively rare silicate, with a rich red color that forms large crystals, here still embedded in a matrix which also contains radial stars of sphene (titanite) and the rarity acmite (black xls) It is sawn flat on the back and bottom from matrix removal. This specimen came out of the collection of Roman Gaufman.
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