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Fine Mineral Specimens - Gallery X
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Dioptase - $3250
Renéville, Brazzaville Region, Rep. of Congo
3.6 x 3.6 x 3.6 cm
MMS-173 - A marvelous radial spray of rich green crystals reminds us that Tsumeb is not the only locality for world-class dioptase specimens. There are more than five crystals here that measure above 1 cm, each with high luster and translucency. This piece is significantly better in person as the photos do not show its three-dimensional nature.
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Quartz var. Amethyst - SOLD
Goboboseb Mtns., Brandberg District, Namibia
12.0 x 9.0 x 9.1 cm
MMS-168 - A pristine, highly transparent quartz crystal with multiple amethyst phantoms rises from a vug lined with lepidocrocite-included quartz. What makes Brandberg amethysts especially enjoyable is that occasionally they contain negative crystals with gas bubbles trapped inside. Enjoy tilting the specimen to watch the gas bubble strive to escape from its ancient cell.
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Ferberite with Quartz - $1950
Mundo Nuevo Mine, Pasto Bueno, Peru
6.1 x 4.5 x 4.2 cm
- ex Wally Mann, - ex Lance Cook Collections
MMS-176 - Who says black rocks have to be ugly? This divergent cluster of fully terminated, lustrous ferberite crystals is complemented by quartz spires and needles...many of which rise from the surface of the ferberite...quite a visual treat. Three-dimensional and full of flash.
  
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Forsterite var. Peridot - $850
Naran-Kagan Vly, NW Frontier Prov., Pakistan
3.2 x 3.0 x 2.4 cm
MMS-180 - This gemmy, spring green peridot crystal clearly shows four steeply angled faces climbing to a pair of rooftop terminations, including four beveled edges. A total of 20 faces are evident with several showing relatively minor etching. This specimen is much less rounded and water worn than what is commonly seen. The inclusions visible in the photo appear to indicate the boundaries of a phantom crystal locked forever inside. Even gemmier in person.
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Gold on Matrix - $2950
Rosia Montaña, Transylvania, Romania
4.8 x 3.3 x 2.3 cm
MMB-516 - Crystalline leaf gold with herringbone patterns flares off a quartz matrix. Rosia Montaña, a world-famous locality in northern Romania, produced some of the finest gold specimens from Europe. A real treat...finding a Romanian gold at a mineral show now is every bit as difficult as finding the proverbial needle. Mined in the late 1800's
 
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Lazurite on Matrix - SOLD
Sar-e-Sang, Badakhshan, Afghanistan
7.2 x 6.4 x 6.0 cm
MMS-333 - Unusually sharp-edged, this lazurite crystal comes from the famous lapis-lazuli mines that have been worked for 6,000 years or more. Note the lapis banding in the marble and the pyrite flecks. Clearly, the conflict in Afghanistan has hampered the collection and sale of mineral specimens and will continue to do so for years to come. Specimens of this quality are dearly sought.
  
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Eosphorite on Rose Quartz - $1350
Taquaral, Itinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil
6.0 x 4.0 x 3.5 cm
MMB-517 - A full radial spray of the rare phosphate eosphorite perches on the top of a host of rose quartz crystals to 1.5 cm. The specimen is truly covered by lustrous, translucent crystals. This well-known material from the 1960's is now difficult to find in well-crystalized examples.
  
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Azurite - $3500
Tsumeb, Charlie Key Pocket (1960s), Namibia
4.6 x 2.5 x 2.3 cm
- ex Karl Warning, - ex Bill Severance Collections
MMS-162 - In this classic Tsumeb azurite miniature, sharp-edged, deep electric blue crystals rise in parallel looking to all the world like a masterwork of architecture. Miniature specimens from Tsumeb of this quality are quite scarce, and pieces from the famed Charlie Key Pocket of the 1960's find a proud place in any mineral collection.
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Apatite, Goshenite, Schorl - $950
Shengus, Skardu District, Baltistan, Pakistan
3.9 x 3.8 x 3.4 cm
MMS-165 - A stunning and complex combination piece: a water clear, doubly-terminated goshenite crystal protrudes at a right angle from a lustrous pink apatite crystal, which encases one corner of a striated black schorl. A snow-white bow tie sheave of cleavelandite crowns the piece and several tiny green elbaite crystals poke out from the apatite at several points. Completing the suite, several 3mm vayrynenite crystals are interspersed.
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