CORUNDUM
Specimen cor-1
$ 90.00Dims: 4.3 x 2.2 x 2.2" (10.9 x 5.6 x 5.6 cm)
Wt: 13.9 oz. (393.0 g)
Tanzania
Maybe I should have classified this specimen as a "ruby" specimen, but I did not think that the color and quality were sufficient. This hand specimen consists of several pink Corundum crystals that are partly-embedded in a matrix of blended quartz, feldspars, and biotite mica. They are small, not exceeding 0.7" (1.8 cm) in length or 0.3" (0.8 cm) in diameter, and a few are noticeably damaged or broken. They do have excellent hexagonal prismatic form, however, with well-defined edges and reasonably clean faces that possess a waxy-to-pearly luster. All are very cloudy and translucent, and likely contain many basally-oriented internal fractures. The host rock is mostly very granular, but it appears to solidify and become more purley feldspar-bearing immediately surrounding the Corundum crystals.