A large thumbnail featuring a MATRIX, GEM sphene, well-twinned and with excellent color. In person, the color is slightly more dark than shown here, but like many titanites it shifts color saturation in response to different lighting and will be a little bit more green or yellow depending on the light shown. This superb thumbnail is competition-class. It is complete all around, and unusually gemmy. Most of these that are gemmy are simply thin, and so are easily see through. This, however, is robust and thickly 3-dimensional (approx 1 cm thick at the base). It is perched on just the right amount of matrix to display and set it up, while remaining a large thumbnail. I cannot recall even seeing such a nice example of this classic gem species from Brazil, on matrix, as a thumbnail. Most are simply big and clunky. This is most likely from the older finds here (pre-1970s). ex Jim White collection