Goodreads reviews - Doctor Who: Winner Takes All (New Series Adventures, #3)

Book: Doctor Who: Winner Takes All, by Jacqueline Rayner.

3.5/5 Goodreads review also here.  

 This is the third book in the Doctor Who New Series Adventures series, featuring the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler. Some thoughts below, including spoilers:

This book has, in my opinion, an engaging plot, pretty good characterization, a proactive Rose, and features some interesting ethical themes, such as criticizing the violence of video games, anti-war mindsets as per usual, denouncing the behaviour of bullies, and tackling the ethical issue of controlling a person. The story also features a handful of problematic elements I didn't like, though, so full discussion of those will follow as well. Spoilers below!

Female representation:

  Rose Tyler is the main female protagonist as Nine's companion, and her mother Jackie Tyler makes a limited appearance as a secondary character (would have liked to see more of her, although the dynamic between her and Rose was lovely). Most female characters in this book, though, are extras, neighbours from the Powell Estate plus some random humans abducted for the game, plus a female Quevvil alien. All of these characters hardly talk or only have a very minimal part in the plot. The one who appears a bit more is incel-teenage Robert's mother Daisy, whom Rose befriends at very nearly the end of the book. Apart from Rose, most of the action and dialogue in this book goes to male characters, from the Doctor to Mickey Smith and his male friends, Robert, local bully Darren Pye, and male Quevvil characters.

+1 Rose is proactive and shows a lot of agency, wits and resourcefulness. She confronts a bully head on, rescues Mickey and the Doctor in a very resourceful way, engages actively in the adventure at hand (which involves saving human beings from aliens who are making them play as part of a video games against their enemies), and, even though she apparently seems to think that in the Doctor's mind she always plays the role of the one who 'needs to be rescued'  ('He gets to be the superhero. I get to be rescued'), the truth is that she always tries to find a solution on her own, instead of waiting to be rescued, and is a very proactive companion overall.

I quite enjoy how proactive and assertive Rose always is, both in the series and the extended universe.

+-1 In the last third of the book Rose becomes a playable character inside the video game they're trying to put a stop to and all her movements and actions are being controlled by the Doctor, who's very much not happy about it, but it's also worth mentioning that it's the main female character, who has been very proactive so far, who ends up in this more passive position involving a dodgy non-consent issue. At least the plot does explore at length how this loss of control and the feeling of someone else controlling her every move (even if it's her best friend) affects Rose, who describes the feeling as terrifying, uncomfortable and vexing. Even when the videogame effectively transforms her into 'Super Rose', with superhuman strength, speed, agility and stamina, something that she wishes she could be in real life, she still feels massively uncomfortable about the situation as she is unable to make any single choice or movement of her own. For his part, the Doctor continuously rages at the fact that he is forced to control Rose in this way and is very upset about the fact that the Quevvils are making him dehumanize Rose (and the other humans), and the issue of the indignity of treating human beings as puppets and toys is frequently brought up in the book, which I appreciated.

+1 Jackie Tyler also shows her usual upfront side and confronts neighbourhood bully Darren Pye when he has a go at Rose.

We stan badass Jackie Tyler

 +1 Female bonding and Bechdel: We see several instances of bonding between female characters throughout the book, featuring several women from Rose's neighbourhood, and also the scenes between Rose and Daisy, teenage Robert's mother. I particularly enjoyed the mother/daughter relationship between Rose and Jackie, here portrayed as healthier and more mature than is shown in other books and episodes, and they worry and care about each other in a very lovely way. 

Some problematic issues, from a feminist pov:

-1 True to his characterization in the series, Mickey Smith is portrayed with so much male entitlement going on his character is very jarring, even if he also has some better scenes in this book. He neglects the housework in his flat 100%, never seeming to clean anything and, in a grating scene, also expecting his (ex)girlfriend Rose to bring him the groceries his kitchen has been lacking for a good while ('[There won't be any biscuits] since I stopped doing the shopping for you'). In this grating scene, the Doctor goes all 'yay bros' with Mickey and sits down for a videogame session, casually and 'jokingly' telling Rose to 'Go and get us some milk and biscuits, will you Rose?'. Ugh. Just ugh.

Male entitlement and gender roles are so funny, aren't they.

 -1 Although Rose is labelled as Mickey's 'ex-girlfriend' in one instance, Rose also feels like they haven't properly split up, and, similarly to what happens in the series, the ambiguous triangle between Rose, the Doctor and Mickey frustrates me to no end and doesn't promote anything that's remotely healthy when it comes to relationship dynamics. Mickey is overtly jealous of the Doctor all the time, the Doctor bashes Mickey and has a go at his capabilities at any time he can (even though, to be fair to a character I don't particularly like - with Noel Clarke's real life beahviour also being an important factor why -, Mickey does play an important part in the story when it comes to saving the day with his computer and videogame skills). All in all, the Nine/Rose/Mickey scenario it's a very cringe-worthy situation that I don't particularly enjoy (more about that in my review of New Who's 'Rose').

Can we stop doing the triangle cliché, especially when it just promotes people being really ambiguous about their relationship status and not communicating? Crowley would never to the first one. He and Aziraphale are also not so great at communicating, though, in their own wholesome-r way, but they are also rather more justified because trauma baggage (sobs xD).

-1 There are a couple of mentions of domestic violence and feminicides which I feel are treated a bit more 'humorously' than they should: Mickey's (male) friends also think that he has more value among his peers for having dated the 'most beautiful girl of the neighbourhood', and what is worse, he is also seen as more virile and badass for potentially having murdered her (and maybe other blonde women), as was suspected of him during the disappearance in the TARDIS in S1 of New Who. What the actual f. Later on, we also briefly encounter a man who has wilfully sent his wife/girlfriend to die because he couldn't stand her, but lately comes to mildly regret it (poor him, I guess). If one is not going to full on denounce gender violence, I think that it is better not to mention it in the first place, and even more so seeing as this book was written by Jacqueline Rayner, the only female writer out of the six Nine&Rose novels, and one of the very few female writers in the Doctor Who book series :S.

+-1 Several male characters, especially Mickey and Robert (we'll talk about this incel below) are afraid to show fear and pain, and turn to bragging and creating Gary Stu stories where they're the hero to hide their insecurities. The book does add conscious criticism to these issues, though, with Rose innerly eye-rolling at how Mickey feels embarrassed for expressing vulnerability, and the Doctor at one point claiming that it's OK [for men, and everyone] to cry and be afraid ('It's OK to cry. I cry all the time').

-1 The whole depiction of teenage Robert's character is that of the ultimate incel and he got on my nerves constantly. He feels oppressed because all the pretty girls don't fawn at his feet in adoration, and wallows in self-pity at his lack of social skills to be suave and charming. He ends up being super creepy about Rose and at some point in his incel daydreams he actually wishes he could control and own her (similarly to other girls in his fantasies), something which, especially considering Rose's arc in the last third of the story, is not great. He dislikes his mother with a teenage passion because he feels that she coddles and embarrasses him and spoils his chances to be charming with the girls. All of these traits are combined in his daydream fantasies, Gary Stu fanfics where he's the hero and the Chosen One (ripping off Star Wars, Harry Potter and more) and goes on adventures without his mother, and gets all the girls, of course. There's nothing wrong about fanfics and daydreaming and self-inserts, but Robert fits the incel archetype to a T, and his entitlement and toxic masculinity shows in all of his self-insert adventures in a very obnoxious way. There is also a huge difference between having a crush and wanting said crush to fawn at your feet because you're theoretically entitled to that - that is young boys displaying all the misogyny and entitlement that they have been learning and not deconstructing in the slightest. It isn't adorkable teenage hormones, it's a string of abusive relationships in its making.

Me reading Robert's character

Not sure if the author was going for parody/criticism when it comes to this character, it kind of looks like that sometimes, but it can feel ambiguous at times, and in some respects, it actually looks like the character is meant to be kind of flawed but adorkable, with a hero-ish journey and ultimate character development as his intended arc. But because none of his incel traits are really challenged by any of the characters, and he never actually changes in that respect, this character started and ended being supremely cringeworthy to me, intended criticism or not.

-1 Finally there are two rather cringy and gratuitous mentions of 'alien bondage' (wtf) - featuring Mickey browsing the Internet looking for exactly that after a cringe-worthy first scene with the Doctor (and Rose) mentioning the topic.

Ethical issues:

+1 The whole premise of the book revolves around several interesting topics, from the inherent violence of video games and the dangerous effects they can have on people's ethical mindsets, to how human beings will readily turn to violence and bullying in real life more often than we'd like to think. It also tackles the very Whovian topic of a war between alien races which the Doctor will try to stop, and a very Hunger Games-esque plot where one of these alien races uses human beings as 'playable characters' in a videogame that is designed to kill and conquer their enemies.

And I love me some Hunger Games-flavoured dystopia as a social criticism vehicle

-1 However, the Doctor seems to think that 'I hate guns (...) which isn't to say that a bit of fantasy violence can't be therapeutic' (as opposed to the story's 'videogame', where the players turn out to be real living beings being killed in real time), and thus is initially happy to engage in killing 'alien baddies' with Mickey. While this statement may be sometimes true, in this particular case, it is also rather throwing under the bus the fact that more than one kind of 'normal' videogames (the kind where you're not actually killing real sentient beings) do normalize real violence in a very problematic way. 

'Never-fired-a-gun' Crowley would definitely have some thoughts on this matter

+1 Anti-war themes all round, with the Doctor and Rose criticizing the unnecessary conflict between the Quevvils and Mantodeans ('Technology like this, and they use it to further a war').

-1 However, the Doctor actually kind of commits genocide in order to save the human captives (atomizing most of the Quevvils when they're still teleporting) and also ignores the attacked Mantodeans at the end (which seem to have everything in control but even so, he doesn't think about them), going away in his TARDIS as soon as the humans were freed. That is a problematic issue, imo, and not very Doctor-y, especially for the Ninth Doctor, who is fresh out of the Time War and is viscerally opposed to the concept of genocide, to the point of choosing not to destroy the Daleks in 'Bad Wolf'/'Parting of the Ways' in S1. So this would definitely not be his first choice, and the nonchalance with which he did it is also massively out of character.

I mean, this is definitely one of Nine's best and most defining moments.

 +1 The Doctor's approach to Rose being happy (but also guilty about that happiness) when she thinks the bully who attacked her mother is dead was a very nice, nuanced scene: '(...) it's all right. You're still allowed to hate them. As long as you don't gloat at their downfall, that's all.'

 
+1 Mickey thinks about how the Doctor just expects him to put himself in danger and/or help him with his plans without asking for his opinion, and it's a very valid point (I hate to agree with Mickey as a rule, but here we are xD). Rose also wonders at some point whether the Doctor sees her as more than the validation he needs to be a hero in the eyes of someone else, and also feels angry at the lack of consideration that Nine sometimes has towards her, her mother or Mickey.

+1 As discussed above as well, this book fully tackles the issue of non-consent and dehumanization when it comes to controlling a person's movements and actions (the people in the videogame are real people controlled by others). The Doctor is forced to control both Rose and a Quevvil and he rages about the fact that he's controlling another being as if they were a 'toy' or a 'puppet' ('You don't treat someone like that. You don't treat a person like that. And they're making me do it, making me degrade her like that. (...) Making me sink to their level (...) Making people dance around like puppets, making me take away every scrap of dignity of my best friend...(...) We'll get out of this (...) But, back of our minds, it'll always be there'). He also gets angry when the Quevvils refer to the human victims as 'carriers' instead of seeing them as individuals. The narrator also shows Rose's point of view about how problematic that situation is and how helpless and annoyed she feels while being controlled.

Nine's disgust and anger at the Quevvils' tactics was very much in character, thankfully.

 -1 Even though this issue is amply discussed, the Doctor and Rose never actually discuss it in person when all is finished, which is not a very healthy decision (and it is their MO, because Nine actually says how they will never discuss it in person because they never do, even though it has left them both traumatized). Also, the Doctor makes a joke that is in very poor taste at the end of the ordeal, when Rose is not present, and to incel Robert of all people, saying that he wouldn't mind from time to time if he were able to control Rose in the way that he formerly raged about being forced to do just before (¿?), because it would lead to a lot less trouble :S. Not-so-great humour as a result of even more repressed, uncommunicated trauma? In any case, such an unnecessary thing to say. 

And see what I mean when I said that pretty much none of Robert's incel traits are challenged? The Doctor does teach him about how crying is healthy and several ethical dilemmas in their time together, which is all good, but if anything he is being enabled in this particular scene (ew), and he leaves the TARDIS at the end none the wiser that Rose is not head over heels over him (sigh), because he has fantasized about it from the very first time he saw her, so that's how it is, but from her point of view, Rose has just greeted him politely and met him for all of five minutes, and that's all there is to it. Ah well xD.

The Robert 'character development' arc? Needs some work. He basically needs to start viewing women as people, for a start. Same as he got the crash course on ethics regarding intergalactic alien wars. Can't be harder than that, right? (welp).

✨If you want to read more reviews of the Doctor Who New Series Adventures:

 -The Clockwise Man (New Series Adventures, #1)

-The Monsters Inside (New Series Adventures, #2)

Goodreads reviews - Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man (New Series Adventures, #1)

Book: Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man, by Justin Richards.

4/5 Goodreads review also here.

 This is the first book in the Doctor Who New Series Adventures series, featuring the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler. It was also one of the first Doctor Who books that I read back in 2015, and I quite enjoyed it. Some thought below, including spoilers:

+1 I found the writing style to be enjoyable and fast to read, and the plot to be quite engaging, with an interesting mystery plot and several twists throughout. The steampunk ambience was also a plus for me, featuring a crossover between 1920s London - the era was also well portrayed, as far as I know - and outer space aliens who endeavour to blend in among the 1920s humans by using non-anachronistic clockwork technology (quite reminiscent of the later clockwork droids in Ten's era!).

+1 The Doctor and Rose are well characterized overall. Nine is perhaps a bit more 'hero action' driven than in other of his stories at times (more hands-on than relying mainly on wits, although the Doctor does this too, depending) - but I feel that the characterization still fits his character quite well. He's also fittingly quick-witted, sarcastic, with social criticism remarks ready at hand, and very, very preocuppied about his misplaced leather jacket (and sonic, but more about the jacket xD). 

I especially enjoyed the portrayal of Rose, nicely depicted as proactive, assertive and compassionate throughout. She navigates the world of 1920s reenactment in a very relatable way (flimsy 1920s cocktail calf-length dresses aren't the best thing to navigate a cold, damp London in, for sure, and she rues the complete lack of jeans and any trousers when shopping for more adequate clothes for her sleuthing, but is happy enough to find sturdier and comfier dresses and skirt suits, at least xD). As per usual for Rose, she has great rapport and a lot of empathy going on with several characters, from her wholesome dynamic with disabled child-heir Freddie to her one and only scene with housemaid Beth, which also leads her to remember Gwyneth from "The Unquiet Dead". She also doesn't like to be called 'my dear' by middle-aged gentlemen, which is 100% understandable.

Even when trapped in your more stereotypical 'damsel in distress' scenarios, I really liked that, true to her TV portrayal, Rose's attitude is always defiant and never passive - in some cases, it's anything *but* passive, as she single handedly deactivates a clockwork cat which was attacking her, without waiting for the Doctor to come to her rescue. She's also quite proactive even when relegated to 'caretaking' roles, and as especially loved the moment where she launches herself in the path of the inner clockwork workings of the Big Ben without a shred hesitation if it means that she can save the life of the injured child at her care. She also finds time to come to aid of the Doctor during the final showdown, nonchalantly running over to kick the gun away from the antagonist's hand while grappling with Nine, and then going back to doing what she was doing (multitasking queen xD). While I would have loved to see her taking a larger role in some parts of the story, the parts where she does appear are great 👍.

+-1 As to the overall dynamic between Nine and Rose, they're a pretty balanced team throughout, even if Nine does get to be a bit more active and present in the story, and also tends to leave to do his own sleuthing without so much as leaving a note for Rose, which rightly annoys her. They also found some time to go visit the exhibition they planned the trip for in the first place, which is not as common as you might think (xD), and had some interesting scenes where they debate the usual Whovian ethical topics on peace, violence, wars, genocide, imperialism and what have you. I was not the biggest fan of a couple of Nine's quips, though, especially the one during the final showdown when Rose needs the Doctor's help and he comments on how 'she's always impatient' (turns out she had all the reason to be 😑). I am also not a big fan of romantic Nine/Rose, so I also didn't love the moment where jealousy is implied on Rose's part when Nine has to interact with another female character 😬.

 

Thankfully, Rose's 1920s reenactment seems to be way better than her "Victorian" get up xD. And incidentally, also better than Clara's stereotypically over-the-knee flapper dress for the Orient Express  (1920s dresses as a rule were calf-length, which was already quite a leap from the 1900-1910s, and this is described correctly in the book!).

 

-Female representation: There are rather more male than female characters in this story, with only 4 female characters of relevance to the plot: Rose Tyler; the 'Painted Lady' Melissa Heart (see below); Lady Anna (a cousin of the Romanovs who has a minimal role in the story, apart from being constantly saddened and worried about her haemophilic son Freddie); and housemaid Beth (who is promptly tragically murdered after a scene with Rose 😩, but I did really like that scene, at least, especially as it touched on class inequality as well as sorority). Another Russian aristocrat, called Nadia Koznyshev, has an additional non-talking cameo at the start of the book. In spite of the fewer number of female characters, Rose Tyler and Melissa Heart do drive large parts of the story, and have fully proactive and interesting roles and characterization. Bechdel pass, as Rose speaks with Lady Anna, Beth and Melissa.

+1 Melissa Heart, called the Painted Lady because she always wears a painted masquerade mask over her face, is initially depicted as a more 2D antagonist with clear traits of the femme fatale archetype, but later on more fleshed out as a way more interesting character. At the start of the story, she's the apparent main antagonist, controlling clockwork droids and wreacking violent havoc among the innocent servants of the aristocrats of London. She later on turns out to be an alien in disguise who seeks revenge for the death of her parents and brother at the hand of the tyrannical despot, who she's searching for. After becoming an ally of the Doctor against their common enemy, she ends up assimilating part of the Doctor's ethos, regretting the innocent casualties she was responsible for and considering that, while she doesn't regret the despot's ultimate end, her means were also not worth the cost.

-1 We also learn that Melissa keeps her face covered due to a botched operation that was intended to disguise her as a human. The fact that the it is the alien woman who ended up with the monstrous and 'deformed' results of this disguise (the alien despot similarly ressembles a human man) is also worth noting, and more than one character wonders whether she's very beautiful or very ugly under her mask, reducing the enigma of her character to her mystery appearance quite a lot 😕.

Melissa's masquerade masks, and her Medieval clockwork droids, are very reminiscent, once again, of the masked 18th Century clockwork droids in "Girl in the Fireplace" during Ten's era.

On monarchy, despots and imperialism:

-1 At the start of the story, we are introduced to several Russian aristocratic characters, mostly related to the Romanovs, who fled to London after the Russian Revolution of 1917 and aspire to 'take back their homeland' someday, by means of Anna's young son, Freddie (who is way more interested in being able to lead an ordinary, fully functional life than in being the ruler of Russia). While this plot line per se doesn't have much relevance in the whole story, I feel like the pro-monarchy and rather entitled ideals of these aristocratic characters aren't (at least initially) criticized as much as they should, with Nine basically listening to their claims and calling them harmless (I guess they kinda are in that point of the story, but their ideals are not). In that scene, the Doctor actually doesn't just sympathise with their specific plights as dispossessed exiles, but surprisingly also seems to have rather few critical things to say about their 'take back the monarchy' plans.

I seem to add this reaction gif to a lot of review posts, but it's just too good xD

 

While there is plenty to criticize in the means by which the Russian Revolution (or the French one, or what have you) achieved their goals, and the Doctor also addresses this with Rose, I feel like the huge class imbalance problems that caused these revolutions in the first place are a bit (if not much) glossed over. Although this is mostly limited to the first couple of chapters of the book, it also rubbed me the wrong way. We should be able to denounce both things - That humankind unfortunately tends to resort to horrible means even when their motivations are legit ("Ends and means, always tricky"), but also that aristocratic ruling classes should not be ruling in the first place, especially if it leads to the starvation and opression of the general population.

 

Crowley excels at this kind of nuanced (and cynical) criticism, for example.

 

+1 Fortunately, while the theme of deposed rulers is one of the main aspects of the story, the plot does not specifically revolve around this group and their dreams of past glory, but instead focuses on criticizing a power-hungry despot who caused genocide, war and destruction and was deposed and exiled to Earth as a result - and then, trying to escape from his exile, doesn't much care if that involves destroying the whole of London as well. Which, I guess, could also be taken as a direct parallel of the supposedly 'idealistic dreams' of the currently 'harmless' Russian exiles to recover their status and their ruling position. The themes of war and genocide are central to the plot, especially in the second half of the book. Fittingly addressed in several discussions, these topics suit the post-Time War Ninth Doctor perfectly, who navigates each day as "a sort of enthusiasm for life between the ennui".

Nine's passionate anti-war stance is quite well portrayed in this book

-1 Nine and Rose were initially visiting 1920s London to visit the 'British Empire exhibition', which is very much constantly praised by all aristocratic characters they meet, as could be expected. While there is also a clear criticism on imperialism via the main antagonist's genocidal and tyrannical overlord history, Nine also offers a dodgy comparison of the imperialism of the Commonwealth with the European Union (??), saying it was "a collection of states and countries that in this case shared a common history rather than a common geography. But despite the fact that Britain no longer ruled many of them directly, there was a sense of cohesion and pride everywhere">. A "common history" being that of the British oppressors, I'm assuming :S. This was a baffling sentence to come from the Doctor's mouth, frankly. 

Why are we remotely trying to justify imperialism in a book that's also focused on the dangers of imperialist mindsets, tho?

+1 However, later on he does a bit of a full 180 (which suits his ethos much more) and engages in an impassioned debate on imperialism and the Commonwealth with the antagonist alien despot (initially masquerading as a British aristocrat who parrots the full British patriot ideals on imperialism, pretty much aligned to his own genocidal imperialism), concluding that "there are things to be ashamed of too", and later on angrily stating that "whole communities [are] wiped out to preserve your empire. Planets ravaged for daring to question your authority. Thousands of people simply disappearing to suit a political purpose". There's the Doctor, where were you at the exhibition, my dude, what was that about whitewashing the British Empire as something legit? 

Whoops

+1 "Being human isn't only about flesh and blood". Finally, I enjoyed the additional discourse throughout the book on the validity of sentient beings who are not human, and especifically as related to androids and robotic beings. Showing 'human(e)' qualities should objectively not be the rod to which other beings are compared as a measure of their validity and morality, granted, but the Doctor does use this argument in the book as a way to oppose the dehumanization as of not only androids, but robots/droids in general, perceived as lesser or disposable by other characters. I especially liked the character of Repple, a humanoid android who becomes an ally of the Doctor and Rose and undergoes a complex journey of self-discovery during the story.  

 

✨If you want to read more reviews of the Doctor Who New Series Adventures:

-The Monsters Inside (New Series Adventures, #2) 

-Winner Takes All (New Series Adventures, #3).

Mineral collection: December 2023 haul

Fig. 1 - Small-to-medium-sized rough specimens from the haul: From left to right, top to bottom - Fluorite, lepidolite, blue apatite, and green zoisite with pargasite.

Fig. 2 - Small boxed specimens from the haul: From left to right, top to bottom - Aragonite, rhodonite, rock crystal, green tourmaline with quartz, and hematoid (red) quartz.

    Fifth post in my mineralogy series, talking about my mineral collection ✨💎! This time it's a new haul from December 2023 from a mineral stall at a local mall - Featuring four small to medium-sized pieces (see Fig. 1) - Fluorite, zoisite with pargasite, lepidolite, and blue apatite -, and five small specimens in cardboard boxes: Aragonite, rhodonite, rock crystal (clear quartz), hematoid (red) quartz, and green tourmaline in quartz (see Fig. 2). With this haul I got my first piece with tourmaline crystals; as well as another lepidolite added to my apparent mica subcollection xD; my first zoisite; my largest fluorite specimen so far (and it's a gorgeous one!); my first raw rhodonite; and more quartzs because you can never have too many quartzs, say I 😁👌!

Before an extensive image gallery with all of these new pieces, here are some pictures of the mineral stall ✨💎.  This stall offered quite a variety of minerals, from the most commonly found tumbled stones, quartz geodes and amethyst clusters, jewellery and decorative objects (from pyramids and towers, to trees and other carved objects), to a selection of small mineral specimens in collectors' cardboard boxes (which was a pleasant surprise, I love these), and also some larger rough pieces, including celestine, lepidolite, fluorite, zoisite (mislabelled as 'ruby zoisite', as we'll later see 😅), rose quartz, rock crystal, and blue apatite. The stall vendor was really nice too, letting us browse to our heart's content and giving us a freebie with our haul (the small blue apatite) 😊.

Fig. 3 - The mineral stall, featuring quite a lot of collectors' specimens in cardboard boxes, some rough and carved pieces at the back, and tumbles on the right.

Fig. 4 - Selecting a zoisite, fluorite and lepidolite at the stall!

Fig. 5 - Quite a variety of kinds of minerals at this stall - from small boxed specimens, to rough and carved pieces, pendants, and tumbled stones. Shame about the 'crystal healing' mumbo-jumbo, tho :S

   The only con that I would list about this stall, apart from the mislabelling problems (we'll get to that later), is the unfortunate ubiquitous presence of the 'crystal healing'/esoteric aspects, especially in the areas of the tumbled stones and some of the rough specimens, with labels indicating the supposed 'properties' of each mineral (see this post to see why 'crystal healing' pseudoscience is such a huge pet peeve of mine 😅). And it's such a pet peeve because it isn't just some harmless mumbo-jumbo that people may want to believe in, it can also effectively (and negatively) affect people's decisions regarding their health. While I was browsing, I overheard a couple of university-age women selecting which tumbles to buy, and they weren't deciding based on such harmless criteria as their collections or their preferences as to colour, shape or luster, no. They were chatting about 'crystal healing' pseudoscience as a statement of fact, and one of them was considering getting a hematite tumble because the label said that this iron ore 'helped with anemia' and she had anemia. Girl, please, forget about the hematite and take some iron supplements instead 😬.

 And now, here's for the hefty picture spam, which will be the main highlight of this post, apart from some brief descriptions of each piece 🤩💎. I typically expand on each of the minerals in my collection and show all specimens together in my National Geographic/RBA collection series in this blog (unless any haul minerals happen to not appear on that collection). So, in this case, I'll be expanding on zoisite here, while in future installments of this series I'll be writing in more detail about rock crystal, hematoid/red quartz, lepidolite, apatite, and green tourmaline (verdelite). The rest have already featured in existing posts of the RBA series, as follows:

✨Post 1: Quartz (general introduction), and fluorite.

✨Post 2: General info about the mica group, rhodonite. Also, a section about milky quartz and iron-coated quartz.

 So, let's being with the pic spam, first some pics with all the haul together 😃✨:

Fig. 6 - From left to right, top to bottom: Lepidolite, zoisite and pargasite, fluorite, and blue apatite.

Fig. 7 - The five new boxed specimens: From left to right, top to bottom - Rock crystal, hematoid (red) quartz, green tourmaline with quartz, rhodonite and aragonite. More minerals from my collection in the background, featuring malachite, vanadinite, citrine, amethyst, azurite+malachite, and celestine.

Fig. 8 - Same as Fig. 6, in direct sunlight.

Fig. 9 - One happy mineral collector with her new haul 🤩💎

Fig. 10 - Said haul 💎

Fig. 11 - The boxed minerals. More minerals from my collection in the background, featuring amethyst, lepidolite, labradorite, pyrite, smoky quartz, malachite, vanadinite, citrine, azurite+malachite, and celestine.

Fig. 12 - Same as Fig. 2, with flash.

 ✨Also, a couple of compilation videos with all of these new pieces together (also on TikTok here and here; bonus slideshow post here; and see longer videos for each of them below as well!):

And now for individual pictures of each of these, alongside a brief description ✨:

1) Fluorite: 

   Fluorite (calcium fluoride, CaF₂) is definitely one of my favourite minerals, especially because of its stunning array of colours, a result of impurities and exposure to radiation, tinting the transparent and colourless pure form of fluorite into transparent-to-translucent pieces with banding and/or zoning in various colours (where green, purple, blue and yellow are the most common). My fluorite pieces have (several shades of) green as their main colour, with purple, blue and light pink zoning, and they're especially beautiful to look at against the light, as the picture spam below will amply demonstrate ✨😍 xD. 

✨Read more about fluorite in this post from my RBA mineral collection series on this blog. 

   This is the largest specimen of fluorite in my collection so far (as seen in Fig. 17, alongside all my other fluorites), and it's mostly a translucent light green, alongside a couple of purple zones (especially a larger zone at one tip of the piece), and some cyan blue zoning and even some yellow also appear when looking at it against the light (see Figs. 13-19 below, and also Figs. 1, 4, 6, 8 and 10 above). The banding is not so prominent in this piece in contrast to my tumbled fluorites, but you can also see some more subtle purple and cyan banding patterns against the light. The characteristic vitreous luster of fluorite also creates an iridescent effect on the surface for this particular piece (a result of light reflecting and scattering through layers of crystallization or internal fractures, as seen, for example, in Fig. 15 and the videos below), and it's so pretty to look at! 

See below for pictures and a video showcasing the luster and beautiful colour zoning of this fluorite ✨:

Fig. 13 - The largest fluorite in my collection so far, mostly green with a distinct purple zone.

Fig. 14 - Green and purple fluorite against direct evening sunlight. The subtle cyan zoning in this piece is more noticeable here, close to the purple banding and zoning at the top.

Fig. 15 - This specimen of fluorite showcases a lovely vitreous luster, and also shows some iridescence on the surface at some angles, as a result of the scattering of the incident light by the translucent crystal layers.

Fig. 16 - Green and purple fluorite against direct evening sunlight. The purple banding and zoning at the top is more defined at this angle.

Fig. 17 - Green and purple fluorite against direct evening sunlight.

Fig. 18 - Green and purple fluorite against direct evening sunlight (featuring a rainbow lens flare on the right).

Fig. 19 - My new fluorite (left), alongside the rest of the fluorites in my collection.

✨Video ✨ (also on TikTok here; bonus slideshow post): 

2) Lepidolite: 

This purple mica is very rich in lithium (Li), and the fact that I keep bumping into lepidolite (I have three so far, as pictured in Fig. 19) is extremely funny to me, because my Astrophysics thesis revolved around studying stellar lithium to calibrate open clusters and estimate stellar ages. So every time I find a lepidolite or other mineral containing lithium, it's highly probable that I will get it (see Fig. 21), if only because of the inside joke 🤣. I also really like the colour purple (the book also, but no pun intended xD), so the range of purples of lepidolite (from lilac to grey-violet, a deeper purple or purplish pink) is another thing that I quite like about this mineral 💜.  Lepidolite will also feature in future installments of my RBA mineral collection series!

This is the third lepidolite in my collection (see Figs. 20-23 below, and also Figs. 1, 4, 6, 8 and 10 above), a medium(ish)-sized raw piece featuring a massive habit, its characteristic vitreous-to-pearly luster, and a purple shade that I would describe as lilac-grey, although it does change subtly depending on the lighting (as we can see in the photos, depending on whether there's direct or indirect sunlight, artificial lighting, or camera flash), from a slightly deeper lavender to rosier or more greyish hues.

 

  The video below (in direct sunlight) showcases the  vitreous and sparkly luster typical of this mica variety and the delicate lilac shade of this specific lepidolite, ranging to more greyish hues in the early afternoon Sun to rosier tones in late evening direct sunlight✨:

 

Fig. 20 - A raw lepidolite with a massive habit, here photographing as a rosy lilac-grey.

Fig. 21 - The new lepidolite alongside my other two specimens, featuring a smaller and very pale grey-lilac raw piece, and a deeper purple large slab in the scaly aggregate habit in which many micas are found.

Fig. 22 - More angles for this lepidolite. The very sparkly nature of this specimen doesn't show as well in photos as in video, but these pictures manage to capture it a bit.

Fig. 23 - Showing a deeper lavender in this lighting, with the other two specimens in the background.

✨Video (also on TikTok here; bonus slideshow post): 

3) Blue apatite: 

  I got this small raw specimen of blue apatite (a group of phosphate minerals) as a freebie for the other purchases! This is the second apatite in my collection (the other being the specimen from the RBA collection, see Fig. 25, in the background). It's rather more delicate than my other apatite, as I found out when several small pieces started to break off when I was minimally handling it to take pictures of it 😱 (at least that was a good moment to see the conchoidal to uneven fracture of apatite, I guess 😅 xD). It's still got a very interesting shape despite the breakage accident, though, and displays the characteristic luster that's a mix between vitreous and resinous. As for the colour, the typical peacock blue hue of blue apatite appears a bit more intensely in the RBA collection piece, but this specimen (as pictured in Figs. 24-26 below, as well as in Figs. 1, 6, 8 and 10 above) also showcases its bright blue, which is the highlight of blue apatite for me ✨.

✨Apatite will also feature in future installments of my RBA mineral collection series! Also see below for a video where we can see the luster, colour and shape of this blue apatite, in direct sunlight ✨:

Fig. 24 - A small blue apatite, showcasing its characteristic bright peacock blue hue.

Fig. 25 - The new blue apatite, alongside my other specimen from the RBA collection (in the background). The latter has a slightly brighter blue shade.

Fig. 26 - Different angles of this blue apatite, in direct sunlight.

✨Video (also on TikTok here; bonus slideshow post): 

4) Zoisite & pargasite: 

   This green zoisite (chrome-zoisite) with inclusions of black pargasite (see Figs. 27-28 and 31-33 below, as well as Figs. 1, 4, 6, 8 and 10 above) has a curious story about it. At the stall, it was sold as 'ruby zoisite' 🤔, and right off the bat it was quite clear that there was no ruby going on anywhere in any of these pieces, unless they're so tiny I would need a UV torchlight to identify the rubies via fluorescence, as red corundum aka ruby fluoresces very bright red under UV light (I later confirmed with my UV flashlight that there is, in fact, no ruby going on in this piece 😅). But even if this would've been the case, it would be hardly legit to label these pieces as 'ruby zoisite' (aka anyolite, as we'll see below), when, to the eye, it's 'just' a green mineral peppered with inclusions of another shiny black mineral (pargasite, also see below). So I thought (and I was initially right), well, this is just zoisite, and I got it because I didn't have any zoisite pieces in my collection as yet, and it was a very pretty specimen, disregardless of whether it had ruby in it or not. So that was that, it was added to the haul alongside the others!

Fig. 27 - A bright green chrome-zoisite with inclusions of black pargasite.

But before delving into the rather amusing identification journey for this piece 😅, I would like to point out that I don't know who was more at fault here with the mislabelling of these zoisites, whether it was the actual stall vendor (who was very sweet and helpful throughout, but also didn't strike me as someone who knew a whole lot about the minerals and pieces she was selling), or whether it was rather the vendor's supplier who sold these zoisites to her already labelled as 'ruby zoisite' (or maybe her boss, if the small business wasn't her own). Might have been one of the latter, but no idea. However it may have happened, it is more than obvious that 'ruby zoisite' catches the browsers' eyes much more effectively than just 'zoisite with pargasite', and it's quite possible that the label itself did not stem from ignorance, but was rather clearly meant to be an intentional clickbait 😬. Who doesn't want to buy a piece that includes rubies, one of the most famous gemstones, and for just 3-4€, no less? What a bargain!

   And so, it would be remiss of me not to mention that, even though I didn't care in the slightest about getting a zoisite with no ruby in it and bought it knowing with 99.9% surety that in the piece there were no rubies to be found, many people drawn to a mineral stall such as this one are often not mineralogy experts or long-time collectors who are able to keep honing their identification skills with practice (and we will talk about that honing later on xD). Which means that they may not be able to correctly identify the pieces they're buying and might readily accept the word of the vendors about their nature and origin, trusting in their supposed expertise on the matter (a level of actual expertise which is also relatively absent, in more cases than we would prefer 😬). Whether it might have been more out of amorality or out of ignorance in this particulat case, lack of transparency and unethical and fraudulent practices most certainly exist aplenty in the 'crystal industry', and an example of these practices is to mislabel a lower-value mineral as something that is higher-grade, more expensive or more showy, so as to catch the potential costumers' attention and interest more quickly. 

   This is done way more often than we'd like, not only by selling lower-grade minerals and gems as higher grade, but also coming in the form of dyed, irradiated and/or completely synthetic minerals (which can also be quite lovely, if only there was more transparency on the matter) being labelled as completely natural, often with the intention of selling them for a higher price because of their rarity in nature. Sigh. As another example of this in this stall, there were some blatantly fake 'emerald' and 'ruby' cabochons hailing from India, imitations which are already infamously known to the mineral community to a greater or lesser extent, but rather less to the passers-by 😬 (you can see some of these imitation 'emeralds' in Fig 5, in the right). It's also fair to say, however, that this stall wasn't really scamming costumers price-wise because all of the rough pieces and boxed specimens available (including the zoisites) were quite affordable (most of them were 3-4€ each, more than reasonable for their size and quality). But that doesn't cancel out the fact that the mislabelling of these pieces was misleading (a personal pet peeve), and effectively acting as a clickbait, all the same.

Fig. 28 - Fuchsite (left) and chrome-zoisite (right)

 So that's that on that respect. But not the end of the story on this zoisite, as I then embarked in an unexpected journey of identification doubts for this piece 😅, from thinking it was zoisite with hornblende (it is zoisite and pargasite xD), to zoisite with maybe included biotite instead of pargasite, to 'could it actually be fuchsite instead of zoisite 🤔??' (spoiler, it is not xD), to 'no, it is zoisite, and maybe biotite' again, to, finally, some identification tests and Reddit threads discussing zoisite later, I arrived at 'this is definitely zoisite with pargasite' 😅👍. Quite an annular structure in this journey, overall (all the LOTR and Hobbit puns have been unintended but welcome 🤣).

Me identifying this zoisite like xDD

So yeah. I left the stall fully convinced that I had a zoisite in my possession, and a quick research session into this mineral made me conclude that the black inclusions were probably hornblende (specifically, black pargasite), as zoisite is often accompanied by it. So far, so good! but I suppose that the 'ruby zoisite' mislabelling issue, accompanied by the fact that this is my first zoisite (and so I had nothing to compare it to), suddenly made me start to doubt whether this was actually zoisite or if the stall had mislabelled that too xD. To top it off, I then mixed up in my mind two different hardness tests that I had done on the same day with different pieces, which resulted in me wrongly thinking that this piece could be scratched with my nails 😅, and so it had to have a hardness of 2-3 on the Mohs scale (see Fig. 29). Meanwhile, zoisite has a hardness of 6-7, which is quite a leap on the scale xD. This supposed hardness test, alongside the fact that I was then already wondering whether the black pargasite inclusions could be black mica (biotite) instead, made me immediately leap to the wrong conclusion that the main material was of the mica group as well, specifically a green mica, a fuchsite. 

Fig. 29 - Mohs hardness scale (Source)

  I did redo the hardness test, thankfully, and found out that neither the green mineral nor the black inclusions got scratched with my nails by a long shot, that this piece scratched pieces such as apatite (5 on the Mohs scale) and other minerals up to hardness 6, that it also scratched glass (so it had to be higher on the scale than 5.5), and that quartz (7 on the Mohs scale) just barely managed to make the slightest mark. So this piece had a hardness of approximately 6.5 (between 6 and 7), which fits zoisite's listed hardness to a T, and my first call seemed to be about right. With the wrong hardness test results dispelled, however, the rest of the pieces began to click together as well: The difference in look, feel and luster between this zoisite and my fuchsite became apparent (see Fig. 28, where my small rough fuchsite specimen, mixed with silvery moscovite, showcases a more pearly luster and a characteristic cleavage than the zoisite lacks). 

Fig 30 - Hornblende (top) vs biotite mica (bottom)

  Finally, regarding the conundrum of pargasite vs biotite (see Fig. 30), the platy prismatic/tabular crystals of pargasite can be certainly confused to an extent with the characteristic platy sheets of mica, but the specimen also clearly showcases the difference in hardness between mica and hornblende (a mica, with a hardness of 2.5 on the Mohs scale, will flake easily when handled, leaving glittery specks on your fingers and strewn on your surfaces, while the pargasite crystals on the zoisite specimen, with a hardness of 5-6, don't even budge xD). And also the difference in luster, with both being vitreous, but pargasite also having a luster that is submetalic rather than pearly (mica). 

   So I guess that all of this means that 1) Mineral identification is a lot of fun, albeit hard and confusing at times 😅, and that 2) practice makes perfect (well, it makes better xD) when it comes to honing these skills, for sure.

 Seeing as zoisite doesn't feature on the RBA kiosc collection I'm organizing most of my mineral posts around (apart from hauls), I will now be talking with a bit more detail about zoisite (and also about pargasite, although hornblende in general will feature on the RBA series as well): And before that, now's the time, finally, for some more pictures and a video showcasing the bright green of this chrome-zoisite and the lovely vitreous luster of the combo of zoisite and pargasite in the Sun ✨:

Fig. 31 -  This chrome-zoisite has a bright green hue and presents inclusions of black pargasite.

Fig. 32 - Chrome-zoisite and pargasite in direct late evening sunlight.

Fig. 33 - Chrome-zoisite and pargasite. The lighting in these two photos makes the piece looks rather more reddish than it actually is, which can also lead to error. In real life it only presents a small area that seems to be slightly stained on the surface (although UV light might be needed to know if there are any ruby minute inclusions going on xD).

✨Video (also on TikTok here; bonus slideshow post): 

💎A bit about zoisite (and pargasite): Source 1,  Source 2, Source 3, Source 4, Source 5, Source 6, Source 7, Source 8, Source 9

- Zoisite (also known as saualpite) is a calcium aluminum hydroxy sorosilicate with the (lengthy xD) chemical formula Ca₂Al₃(SiO₄)(Si₂O₇)O(OH). Being the orthorhombic polymorph of clinozoisite (the two minerals are dimorphs, with the same chemical formula but different crystal structure, see Fig. 34), zoisite was formerly assigned to the epidote mineral group but is no longer considered to be a member of it. In spite of this distinction, both zoisite and clinozoisite have very similar physical properties and are often very difficult to distinguish.

 

Fig. 34 - Zoisite&clinozoisite infographic (Source)

  Zoisite (alongside clinozoisite) typically forms in metamorphic rocks in high-presssure and low-temperature conditions, and often through the metamorphic alteration of pre-existing igneous and sedimentary rocks, undergoing chemical changes and recrystallization. In these environments, it can occur in massive form (granular masses), and as prismatic crystals in pegmatites and in veins in schists and marbles. 

  This mineral is relatively hard, 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale, and exhibits a perfect conchoidal fracture. Zoisite may be colourless or instead occur in a wide range of colours, from green (chrome-zoisite) and blue to pink, yellow, grey and violet. Transparent blue (and violet) zoisite crystals, coloured by vanadium, are known as tanzanite, a rare variant that was discovered in the 1960s in Tanzania (most of it is nowadays produced and sold by heat treating brown zoisites, changing the oxidation state of vanadium to turn the colour to blue). Thulite (or rosalite) an opaque pink manganese-bearing variety, is also rare. 

  Finally, we have anyolite, or 'ruby zoisite', a rock composed of bright green chrome-zoisite and red corundum crystals (ruby), often also accented by inclusions of black pargasite (or tschermakite, see below). My larger zoisite specimen is pretty much an anyolite without the ruby, so technically not an anyolite at all 😅. Still very lovely, but as we've seen, also mislabelled in a problematic way by the vendors, and the difference between specimens such as mine and actual anyolite (see Fig. 34.1-5) are quite blatant when it comes to the red areas featuring ruby crystals:

Fig. 34.1 - Anyolite (ruby zoisite) with black pargasite (Tanzania). Very similar to my specimen except for the ruby xD (Source)

Fig. 34.2 - A ruby zoisite with black pargasite at Expominerales Madrid 2024.

As part of an April 2024 haul, I finally got my first piece of actual ruby zoisite (see Figs. 34.3-5), a small tumbled one which is quite lovely, with the green of the chrome-zoisite contrasting with the red ruby zones and the black of the hornblende. And the ruby areas in this tumbled anyolite fluoresce very bright red under my UV torchlight, which was also very cool to see. Also see below for a couple of videos of this anyolite in natural and UV light (on Tiktok here and here):

Fig. 34.3 - Tumbled ruby zoisite

Fig. 34.4 - Tumbled ruby zoisite

Fig. 34.5 - Tumbled ruby zoisite

- Pargasite (and also tschermakite), is a complex inosilicate mineral of the amphibole group, and a member of the extended hornblende group of minerals (specifically, part of the hornblende-ferroschermakite group), with the (even more lengthy xD) chemical formula NaCa₂[(Mg, Fe²⁺)₄Al](Si₆Al₂)O₂₂(OH)₂. Amphiboles as a group are inosilicates which typically contain calcium (Ca), aluminum (Al), iron (Fe) and/or magnesium (Mg) in their structures and form prismatic or needlelike crystals. Ferro- and mangano-pargasites (see the formula above) are isomorphs (same crystal structure, different chemical composition), in this case differing in their iron or magnesium content.  'Hornblende' as a term is commonly used informally to refer to any opaque amphiboles, typically dark green to black, which includes tschermakite and pargasite. All individual hornblende minerals have a very similar appearance, and can be practically indistinguishable without individual analysis.

Fig. 36 - Pargasite infographic (Source)

Pargasite is one of the most common amphiboles, typically forming in high-temperature metamorphic rocks, as well as in volcanic and ultramafic  igneous rocks. It occurs as granular masses and as opaque to transparent prismatic or tabular crystals, with a vitreous to submetallic luster (such as the ones featured in my zoisite), and includes not only opaque dark green and black varieties, but also transparent light-coloured ones, as in the case of the highly sought-out bright green transparent pargasite crystals. Some of these varieties are recognized as individual minerals, with pargasite actually being the principal member of its own complex mineral group with a total of 26 species.

✨Some interesting history and STEM trivia about zoisite and pargasite:  

• Zoisite was first described by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1805, who named the mineral after Carniolan (a region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia) naturalist Sigmund Zois (1747-1819), who financed  mineral-collecting expeditions. It had been Zois who had sent Werner specimens of the then unknown zoisite (found by mineral dealer Simon Prešern in 1804), from the locality of Saualpe in Carinthia (Austria). Thus its alternative name, saualpite.

• Pargasite is named after the Pargas Valley, a locality in Finland, where dark green to black specimens of this mineral were first found and described. This name was coined in 1814 by Count Fabian Gotthard von Steinheil.

• Uses of zoisite: Both zoisite and clinozoisite are typically found in small quantities, and thus historically these minerals have not been very well-known or widely used either for industrial purposes or in the gemstone market. In spite of this, transparent and/or colourful specimens, such as tanzanite, thulite and anyolite, have gained popularity and are currently highly valued as gemstones, and used for carvings. jewellery and other ornamental purposes. Its rarer varieties are highly sought-after by gemstone and mineral collectors. Albeit less commonly, zoisite has also several industrial applications: As an abrasive for cutting and polishing other materials, due to its hardness, or used in ceramics or as a filler for other composite materials.
  

• Pargasite acts as the main water-storage site in the Earth's upper mantle. Although it becomes unstable at depths greater than 90 km, the presence of pargasite in lherzolite-type ultramafic igneous rocks is also of great scientific value in order to study the temperature ranges at which rocks form in the uppermost levels of the mantle.

Finally,

💎 An infographic video on zoisite and pargasite, including and additional clip and featuring mineralogy facts and historical trivia (also on Tiktok here):

 

5) Aragonite:   

And now we come to the five small boxed minerals from this haul! First is a small pinecone aragonite cluster (see Figs. 37-39 below, as well as Figs. 2, 7, and 11-12 above), originating from Cuenca (Castilla la Mancha, Spain). In my collection, I already had larger pinecone aragonites, but this one is still probably in my top three favourites, with beautiful reddish-brown pseudo-hexagonal prismatic crystals grouped around a central axis (hence the alternative name 'aragonite star clusters').

✨Aragonite will also feature in the upcoming post 4 of my RBA mineral collection series! Also see below for a video showing the lovely crystals and the vitreous luster of this piece in direct sunlight ✨:

Fig. 37 - Pinecone aragonite, in its box.

Fig. 38 - Pinecone aragonite with lovely red-brown pseudo-hexagonal prismatic crystals. Also, look at that luster!

Fig. 39 -  Pinecone aragonite, more angles.

 

✨Video (also on TikTok here; bonus slideshow post): 

 

6) Rhodonite: 

  The second of the small boxed minerals is my first rough rhodonite, which joins my tumbled piece from the RBA collection (see Fig. 44).  Both of my rhodonite specimens are from South Africa, and this one (see Figs. 40-44 below, as well as Figs. 2, 7, and 11-12 above) is a raw piece, displaying the pink hue characteristic of rhodonite, as well as its typical vitreous luster, becoming more pearly on cleavage surfaces. This specimen is homogeneously pink and lacks the brown and black patches of my tumbled rhodonite (corresponding to manganese oxides), but instead includes a curious green patina at the top, which I tentatively guess as being a copper-based mineral(?), possibly malachite (or maybe conichalcite?). It is a curious combination that I personally hadn't seen before (green coatings in rhodonite specimens can be seen here: 1, 2, 3), but that's my best guess at the moment. The green coating doesn't look like epidote or tephroite, the only green minerals I had seen associated with rhodonite so far.

 

✨Read more about rhodonite in the second post in my RBA mineral collection series on this blog. Also see below the pictures for a video with this rough rhodonite in direct sunlight ✨:

Fig. 40 - Rough rhodonite, in its box.

Fig. 41 - This small rough rhodonite displays its characteristic pink colour, as well as a green patina on the top, possibly malachite or a copper-based mineral?

Fig. 42 - Rough rhodonite showcasing an homogeneous pink colour and a green patina of possibly malachite.

Fig. 43 - Rough rhodonite, view from the back.

Fig. 44 - Tumbled (left) and rough (right) rhodonites. The tumbled one shows black and brown patches as a result of manganese oxides.

 

✨Video (also on TikTok here; bonus slideshow post): 

6) Rock crystal: 

For our third mineral in this second half of the haul, we have a beautiful rock crystal (clear quartz) cluster (see Figs. 45-49 below, as well as Figs. 2, 7, and 11-12 above), originating from Brazil. In spite of its small size, this quartz cluster displays some gorgeous well-terminated pyramidal prismatic crystals, with some incredible transparency as well ✨.

✨Rock crystal will also feature in a future installment of my RBA mineral collection series! In the meantime, you can also read about quartz in general in post 1 of this series, and about milky quartz and quartz geodes in post 2. Also see below for a video where we can see the gorgeous crystals and the transparency and vitreous luster of this quartz specimen, in direct sunlight ✨:

Fig. 45 - Rock crystal cluster, in its box.

Fig. 46 - This rock crystal cluster has some gorgeous well-terminated crystals.

Fig. 47 - This rock crystal cluster has some gorgeous well-terminated crystals. I especially love the one at the top!

Fig. 48 - Rock crystal cluster, more angles.

Fig. 49 - Rock crystal cluster, more angles, featuring some really lovely shine on the tallest crystal.

✨Video (also on TikTok here; bonus slideshow post): 

7) Hematoid quartz: 

The fourth boxed mineral is another quartz, this time a red quartz aka hematoid/ferruginous quartz, originating from Morocco (see Figs. 50-53 below, as well as Figs. 2, 7, and 11-12 above). Coloured red by iron inclusions, this hematoid quartz cluster also displays some beautiful well-terminated pyramidal prismatic crystals, as well as a deep red hue and a lovely vitreous luster ✨.

✨Hematoid/red quartz will also feature in other hauls, as well as in a future installment of my RBA mineral collection series! In the meantime, you can also read about quartz in general in post 1 of this series, and about milky quartz, quartz geodes and iron-stained quartz in post 2. Also see below for a video where we can see the gorgeous crystals, vitreous luster and red colour of this quartz specimen, in direct sunlight ✨:

Fig. 50 - Red (hematoid) quartz, in its box.

Fig. 51 - Red quartz cluster, also showcasing some gorgeous pyramidal prismatic crystals.

Fig. 52 - Red quartz cluster, displaying a deep red colour due to iron inclusions, and a lovely luster.

Fig. 53 - Red quartz cluster,more angles.

✨Video (also on TikTok here; bonus slideshow post): 

8) Green tourmaline & quartz: 

And finally, we have a small specimen of green tourmaline (verdelite) crystals in a milky quartz matrix, a piece originating from Brazil (see Figs. 54-57 below, as well as Figs. 2, 7, and 11-12 above). I already have another verdelite as part of the RBA collection, but what I got was a very dark and rather lackluster raw piece that was visually way more similar to an (opaque) black tourmaline than anything else 😅. So I'm definitely happy to now have an specimen with actually greener crystals xD. Even though it's a small piece, there are several prismatic and columnar tourmaline crystals in this specimen (albeit incomplete and half-buried in the quartz matrix), and the combo between the crystals and the quartz matrix is quite lovely. The crystals also show characteristic striations along their long axis, especially when moving the piece to and fro in the light ✨. The main colour of these verdelite crystals is green, but one of them also seems to have a pink zone on the inside when looking at its cross-section (see, for example, Fig. 56). Could this be the closest I've come at the moment to having a watermelon tourmaline, the coveted pink and green bicolour variety? It seems so xD.

✨Tourmaline (both black tourmaline and verdelite) will also feature in future installments of my RBA mineral collection series! You can also read about quartz in general in post 1 of this series, and about milky quartz and quartz geodes in post 2. Also see below for a video where we can see the lovely vitreous shine of the green tourmaline crystals in its quartz matrix, in direct sunlight ✨:

Fig. 54 - Green tourmaline in quartz matrix, in its box.

Fig. 55 - Green tourmaline (verdelite) in quartz matrix, with some nice bright green crystals.

Fig. 56 - Green tourmaline in quartz matrix. One of the tourmaline crystals has a pink zone when looking at its crossection. The nearest I've come to a watermelon tourmaline so far xD!

Fig. 57 - Green tourmaline in quartz matrix, more angles.

✨Video (also on TikTok here; bonus slideshow post): 

And that's it for this haul! Stay tuned for more mineral content with a next installment of the RBA collection series 😁!