2.3" Lustrous Rutile Crystal - Graves Mountain, Georgia

Lustrous Rutile Crystal - Graves Mountain, Georgia #47859

This specimen contains a large, deep red-black rutile crystal with a metallic-like luster, on a rutile-pyrophyllite matrix. The rutile crystal looks to have broken, shifted and resettled while in the mountain, leaving it with a somewhat bent appearance. Many of the faces didn't seem to be affected by this, for a brilliant mirror effect is still present.

Rutile is an oxide mineral composed primarily of TiO2, though iron is a typical chemical variation. It comes in a wide variety of crystal forms, from lustrous metallic-looking crystals and thin straw-like crystals to even deep red crystals with slight translucence. Rutile also forms needle-like inclusion with other minerals, most commonly with quartz. Rarer polymorphs of rutile (TiO2) include anatase and brookite, both of which have unique crystal structures.

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