A very sculptural piece with tan, lustrous olmiite that in crystallography is somewhere between "balls" and "wheatsheaves," making for a very cute stack of crystals one atop the other. Joe Budd Photos, shot in halogen light...they are more red-colored in standard room fluorescent lighting.

A sculptural cluster of grapelike balls of peach-pink olmiite to 1 cm. Superb aesthetics and unusually fine luster. Joe Budd Photos, shot in halogen light...they are more red-colored in standard room fluorescent lighting.

A bright and sparkling specimen with unusually lustrous clusters of tan and offwhite-colored olmiite, spaced out in discrete balls upon a calcite matrix. The colors make for a stark contrast to one another, and the tan balls are incredibly lustrous. Illustrated in the "Connoisseurs Choice" article on Olmiite, in the March-April issue of ROCKS & MINERALS magazine. Joe Budd Photos, shot in halogen light...they are more red-colored in standard room fluorescent lighting.

This is an intense purple-pink tanzanite crystal, which is a very rare and seldom seen natural color for tanzanite. The crystal is razor sharp and lustrous, and weights 38.9 carats. It is complete all around save for a small divot out of the back of the otherwise razorsharp termination (and hence is priced about half what it would, otherwise, but nevertheless is VERY impressive on display, and from front or sides). Joe Budd Photos.

Witherite from Illinois sets the standard for the species, to most collectors. The only competitors are old English specimens, and there are few enough of them - plus they are white or chalky in color. This piece has amber-colored witherite intergrown over fluorite, and makes for a very choice small cabinet specimen. These mines are now closed and defunct, and good witherites have not been found in decades in any case, from any locality. The specimen was collected in the mine in 1971 by collector Bob Bartsch, and given to his friend Al Ordway on his return to California. It is a very aesthetic, choice example of the material from this mine both for its color and form, as well as exceptional luster for the species. Joe Budd Photos.