Rutile embedded in quartz is one of those classic and amazing associations that never fail to impress mineral collectors, and even people from the outside world of art objects, gems, and jewelry. These transcend minerals per se and make you think about how this stuff forms in nature on a visceral level when you see them. The specimen here is an exceptionally well-polished sphere of quartz, with sharp, bright reddish needles of the titanium mineral rutile enclosed within. Once found in such quality only in Brazil, with more golden or silvery colored crystals within, this is rather from more modern finds since the 2000s in Madagascar. All of this material goes to China in vast imports, to cut into spheres for the decor and gems market there. Fine specimens like this need to generally be bought in China, not in the western markets.