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While living primarily in Namibia and South Africa over the course of
more than 30 years, dealer and collector Charlie Key assembled a huge
collection of quartz specimens found at these now well-known locales
in southern Namibia. He collected for both quality and visual impact,
but also for breadth and diversity of habits; to build up an important
collection representing the peak years of these localities. Even
inexpensive examples are, generally, interesting and worth commenting
on, adding depth to the whole. Despite the fact they are all the same
species here, there is something interesting to say about nearly all
pieces, in fact...the sheer range of forms and phantoms and colors
represented makes these deposits, to my eye, one of the world's most
important localities for quartz. You can look at hundreds of them, and
not be bored! These collections were an award-winning exhibit at the
2007 Tucson Gem & Mineral Show.
bb02 - Quartz var. Amethyst - CAN$ 130 SOLD Brandberg, Namibia thumbnail, 2.6 x 1.8 x 1.6 cm ex. Charlie Key
A nice, very rich colored amethyst from Brandberg, Namibia. This specimen has wonderful flashes of red and is a stunning thumbnail.
bb01 - Quartz with Smoky and Amethyst Phantoms - CAN$ 363 SOLD Gobobos, Namibia small cabinet, 6.2 x 2.2 x 1.5 cm ex. Charlie Key
Wonderful single crystal with perfect termination. Very nice luster. Goes from light amethyst to dark amethyst with smoky phantom in glass clear quartz. Superb!
bb03 - Quartz var. Amethyst - CAN$ 78 Gobobos, Namibia thumbnail, 3.0 x 1.7 x 1.5 cm ex. Charlie Key
A cute little scepter with a very interesting amethyst center.
bb04 - Quartz with Smoky and Amethyst Phantoms - CAN$ 466 SOLD Gobobos, Namibia miniature, 4.9 x 2.5 x 2.2 cm ex. Charlie Key
Clear quartz with hematite inclusions and a fantastic double phantom, one being amethyst, the other smoky. A nice extra touch is the beautiful rainbow within. Seen MANY miniature brandbergs and few leap out like this one, so clean and clear it could be made of glass.
bb05 - Quartz with Red Hematite Inclusions - CAN$ 233 SOLD Gobobos, Namibia thumbnail, 2.5 x 1.3 x 1.0 cm ex. Charlie Key
A sweet little quartz with a firework effect of red hematite inclusions within, making for a thumbnail that is just outstanding.
bb06 - Quartz with Amethyst phantom and Enhydro - CAN$ 466 Gobobos, Namibia small cabinet, 8.4 x 2.3 1.5 cm ex. Charlie Key
Here you have a lovely quartz with wisps of amethyst and smoky AND a moveable water bubble embedded inside!
bb07 - Quartz with Amethyst phantom - CAN$ 415 SOLD Gobobos, Namibia small cabinet, 6.3 x 2.0 x 1.9 cm ex. Charlie Key
A PERFECT, chiseled specimen of clear quartz with a very rich amethyst phantom. A wonderful example of quartz from the Gobobos.
bb09 - Quartz with Amethyst - CAN$ 881 SOLD Gobobos, Namibia small cabinet, 9.0 x 2.8 x 1.4 cm ex. Charlie Key
A most interesting flattened crystal of amethyst-included quartz with three different, distinct phantom layers separated by clear zones, and a few sharp smoky layers as well - mesmerizing! A truly remarkable specimen
bb11 - Quartz and Amethyst - CAN$ 933 SOLD Gobobos, Namibia small cabinet, 7.9 x 2.0 x 1.9 cm ex. Charlie Key
A superlative, sharp, gemmy raspberry purple with a beautiful phantom. This one is a stellar example of amethyst from this locality.
bb14 - Quartz var. Amethyst - CAN$ 466 SOLD Gobobos, Namibia small cabinet, 7.5 x 5.2 x 4.2 cm ex. Charlie Key
A splayed group of 3 dark amethyst crystals crossing one another at their intersection, unusual for the locality! Few clusters have come from here, compared to isolated singles...the deposit is just that way. This is a FLOATER, complete all around - all crystals being doubly-terminated! .
bb15 - Quartz with Amethyst and Smoky Quartz phantoms - CAN$ 415 SOLD Gobobos, Namibia small cabinet, 7.4 x 1.8 x 1.6 cm ex. Charlie Key
This is a brilliant, lovely quartz with amethyst and smoky phantoms that just "dance" when lit well. It will be hard to beat this specimen for quality and luster in this price range.
bb16 - Quartz (unusual habit) - CAN$ 363 SOLD Gobobos, Namibia small cabinet, 7.8 x 4.5 x 1.4 cm ex. Charlie Key
A rare habit from the Gobobos, a "shard" style tabular, thin crystal with bizarre form. Complete all around save contact on bottom. This piece has a smoky tip on top and just a hint of amethyst on the bottom
bb18 - Quartz var. Amethyst - CAN$ 622 SOLD Gobobos, Namibia small cabinet, 8.1 x 4.8 x 3.8 cm ex. Charlie Key
This specimen is a very nice cluster of 3-dimensional, fat amethyst crystals. What makes this one so unusual is the dark amethyst runs right up the center of each crystal. A very attractive specimen! It is a floater save for the smallest attachment point at the bottom tip.
bb20 - Amethyst sceptre on Quartz - CAN$ 466 SOLD Brandberg, Namibia small cabinet, 6.3 x 5.4 x 4.2 cm ex. Charlie Key
A magnificent example of scepter growth from the Brandberg mountains. This would be a $3500 specimen if it didn’t have jsut that darned small chip on one of the side faces of the termination to the right as shown. It is not visible from the viewing side , so the crystal is truly impressive for the price, if you can live with a ding on the far side. Visually, this is incredible...you seldom see such intense purple amethyst from here, let alone as a sceptre!
BB24 - Quartz with Amethyst - CAN$ 2073 Gobobos, Namibia cabinet, 11.6 x 2.9 x 2.8 cm ex. Charlie Key
DEEPLY-hued, intense amethyst phantom within a 4 inch plus crystal! WOW, what an eye pleaser.
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