Detailed information
Species
Cuprite, Native Copper, Quartz
Dimensions
51 x 78 x 56
mm
Weight
258 g
Locality
Wheal Gorland St. Day United Mines, Gwennap Cornwall, England
Condition
No recorded repairs
A very fine small display specimen of crystallized Cuprite intergrown with Native Copper in Quartz veinstone from the famous Wheal Gorland, St. Day, Cornwall. Cuprite, and indeed Native Copper, are both well known from Cornwall and specimens grace historic collections dating back to the middle of the 18th century. However, it was discoveries made at Wheal Gorland in the earliest years of the 19th century that really raised the bar in terms of the richness of specimens and the quality of crystals. This specimen shows all of the classic features of this early Gorland material - richly aggregated, highly lustrous, sharply formed Cuprite crystals intergrown with hackly Native Copper with fragments of poorly crystallized milky Quartz. The Cuprite crystals reach about 2 mm in size and show a lovely deep purple colour. There are admittedly, much larger specimens available, but for a wonderful compact crystallized specimen of Cornish Cuprite this is excellent. It displays very well and has the dense feel of richness one expects from Cuprite and Native Copper.