This obscure metal is little more than a lab curiosity. Rare, expensive and difficult to separate from the other lanthanides, along with the fact it has few extraordinary properties, means thulium is destined to remain in obscurity. As the number of collectors of elements grow we wonder how long it will be before the majority of the demand simply comes from those wanting to own a little of this exotic metal!

These fragments of thulium come in the wonderfully textured form of the metal known in the trade as "dendritic" which is a fancy word for the branch-like shapes metals form when allowed to crystallize.