Triplite (extremely rare) Childrenite I showed the piece to

I showed the piece to Robert Stoufer and he identified the locality for me

A rarely seen matrix Gahnite (a zinc-bearing member of the Spinel Group) from Stratford in Alleghany County which was collected circa 1950s-1960s and comes from the collection of noted Italian author and mineral collector

and these pieces are incredibly difficult to find in good display specimens such as this

The cut on the stone is an "Oval Brilliant" cut

which is incredibly rare in my experience

Triplite (extremely rare) Childrenite I showed the piece toTriplite is not rare in the aspect that it is found in various parts of the world, but the large percentage of ALL Triplites around the world are essentially black and opaque, and not gem quality with a bright salmon orange color like this stone! There was one find of these crystals and rough in Pakistan in the early 2000s, and they are simply some of the most impressive gems of any phosphate I've seen from any locality. This gem weighs in at over