Coarse-grained, ivory-colored diopside showing excellent basal parting, with scattered grains of black franklinite and (lower right) some brown tephroite. The visible tephroite is part of a much larger mass exposed mostly on the back of the specimen. Also present is secondary willemite, both as patchy films on parting surfaces and thin veinlets cutting through the mass, but these are apparent only by their fluorescence. Ex John Sanfaçon collection, presently (2025) in the collection of Steven Kuitems. This is the specimen in which red fluorescence in Franklin diopside was first documented, as shown in photo DPS17b.
Identifier: DPS17a Locality: Franklin mine, Franklin Specimen size: 9 x 5.5 x 4 cm Photo credit: Earl R. Verbeek
