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from the Charles Locke Key Collection
K-198 - Aquamarine - $ 4850 SOLD Erongo Mountains, Namibia small cabinet, 7.0 x 4.2 x 3.9 cm ex. Charlie Key
An exquisite specimen, one of my absolute favorites, featuring a sharp, VERTICALLY upright aqua perched on matrix of crystallized msoky quartz. From Erongo, the smoky quartz association is uncommon but you find it from time to time. Pakistan occasionally has aquas in association with smoky quartz, but generally not with aqua of this calibre. The aqua itself is pristine and measures 2.5 cm tall (1 inch!) x 2 x 1.5 cm. When we got it from Charlie, it was coated by a thick layer of iron oxide "rust," which has been removed to reveal the perfection underneath - the caoting kept this exposed crystal pristine! Also, unusual for the Erongo aquas, this has a wonderfully bevelled termination AND extraordinary gemminess. Most Erongo aquas, although pretty and good blue in color, lack this kind of solid gemminess to them...hence , this is an exceptionally premium quality crystal on its own merit, aside from its matrix association.
K-101 - Aquamarine with Smoky Quartz (twin) and Schorl - $ 3450 SOLD Erongo Mountains, Namibia miniature, 5.2 x 4.1 x 2.7 cm ex. Charlie Key
If I had to pick one miniature for sheer pizzazz, this would be it. The specimen features a really fine aqua with deep color, excellent glassy lustre, and complete all around....but its those associations that obviously make it outstanding and visually unique! Never have I seen a miniature from here with such interesting and unusual aesthetics, because of its associations with schorl and quartz. This full miniature is complete all around !
K-102 - Aquamarine on Smoky Quartz - $ 3750 SOLD Erongo Mountains, Namibia small cabinet, 6.1 x 5.2 x 4.7 cm ex. Charlie Key
A stellar cluster of upright aquamarines, complete all around 360-degrees, that is perched smack on top of crystals of smoky quartz. Its amazing, really, that it grew this way and survived! The aquas are majestic, how they reach up to a multilevelled termination. It look slike a cityscape on a mountain!
K-103 - Aquamarine in Schorl - $ 400 SOLD Erongo Mountains, Namibia miniature, 3 x 2.8 x 2.5 cm ex. Charlie Key
A GEM aquamarine about 2.5 cm long, perched in the side of a very sharp and lustrous schrol crystal - great contrast and stark symmetry make this piece have a lot of impact for the price!
K-104 - Aquamarine with Schorl and Fluorite on Feldspar - $ 1450 SOLD Erongo Mountains, Namibia miniature, 4.1 x 3.8 x 2.8 cm ex. Charlie Key
This specimen is "elegant" in every sense. It features a slender but super quality aqua, 3.5 cm long, perched gently on a sharply angled feldspar crystal decorated with schorl and fluorite. Just a really fine piece that stands out from the crowd of Erongo pieces!
K-105 - Aquamarine on Smoky Quartz - $ 450 SOLD Erongo Mountains, Namibia small cabinet, 6.25 x 4.9 x 3.0 cm ex. Charlie Key
Great combination piece with several aquas perched amidst a cluster of smoky quartz! The larger aqua is 2.5 cm and has a sceptred termination pointing front. The smaller aqua is about 2 cm and features a stunning, gemmy, sharply bevelled prismatic termination. The piece as a whole is very bright and 3-dimensional, and I think its a good deal for the price.
K-106 - Aquamarines on Schorl - $ 2150 SOLD Erongo Mountains, Namibia small cabinet, 7.5 x 6.8 x 3.7 cm ex. Charlie Key
A stunning specimen with unusual contrast in that this top quality, gemy, glassy aqua cluster is perched smack dab in the middle of jet black schorl, rather than just associated with it as is normally the case. Out of thousands of Erongo pieces i have seen, i cannot recall another with quite such aspect. The contrast enhances the blue hue and also makes the aqua look like a jewel set in the rock, enhancing the damatic effect of the piece as a whole.
K-107 - Aquamarine with Feldspar - $ 1750 SOLD Erongo Mountains, Namibia small cabinet, 6.7 x 3.8 x 3.4 cm ex. Charlie Key
This elegant cluster has a lot of pizzazz, with sharp, lustrous, very gemmy (for Erongo material) aquas shooting every which way! VERY 3-dimensional in person.
K-108 - Aquamarine - $ 1750 SOLD Erongo Mountains, Namibia small cabinet, 6.1 x 5.1 x 4.5 cm ex. Charlie Key
A very "juicy" cluster with about the richest blue color you can ask for in an Erongo aqua, moreintense blue even than pakistani aquamarine material. It has an inner brightness to it that intensifies the color, and extremely good lustre. VERY 3-dimensional in person....the pics do not quite convey how dramtic it is.
K-109 - Aquamarine with Schorl - $ 600 SOLD Erongo Mountains, Namibia miniature, 4.4 x 4.3 x 2.6 cm ex. Charlie Key
Several slender, exceptionally gemmy aquamarine crystals perched jauntily on a crystal of etched feldspar, and with a sharp schorl at its base. VERY elegant miniature of competition quality and a good deal for the price, i would think
K-112 - Aquamarine (unusual flat plate) with Schorl - $ 600 Erongo Mountains, Namibia cabinet, 11.3 x 7.0 x 2.6 cm ex. Charlie Key
A most unusual plate, like none others I have seen from here, with incredibly lustrous crystals that are unusually squat. They are all solidly interjoined and connected into a thin plate that is complete all around.
K-113 - Aquamarine with Schorl - $ 7500 SOLD Erongo Mountains, Namibia cabinet, 11 x 8 x 7.5 cm ex. Charlie Key
A stunning combination piece with a 2 inch aqua perched diagonally and in contrast to one of the most lustrous schorls you will ever see! I think the pics say it all!
K-190 - Fluorite on Aquamarine - SOLD Erongo Mountains, Namibia miniature, 4.8 x 3.4 x 2.4 cm ex. Charlie Key
The pic pretty much says it all...this is one of the most extremely sculptural combos I have seen, and althoug a slender spray, is dramatic beyond its size. Repaired (the fluorite attachment), or it would be "priceless" at a higher price...
K-114 - Dioptase - $ 4750 Otjikotu, Kaokoveld, Kunene, Namibia small cabinet, 5.9 x 4.2 x 2.4 cm ex. Charlie Key
One of the finest Kaokoveld dioptase specimens I have seen, with a quality of lustre and color equivalent to Tsumeb dioptase, and an aesthetic arrangement uncommon from this location in larger diops (which tend to be boring flattish plates more than 3-D agregates as this one. The contrasting blue chrysocolla accent is a wonderful finishing touch. This piece just radiates color and shows like its worth 10k...well, the simple fact of the matter is that the Kaok material simply goes for about 1/3 what a same-sized Tsumeb specimen of similar quality would go for. There is simply more premium put on the Tsumeb material, much of which came out in the 1970s, compared to teh Kaok material which has come out since the mid 1980s. I do not think this pricing difference to be entirely warranted, but it exists and I feel that I must price this one accordingly even though I do truly feel its a 10k piece if only from a locality only a few hundred klicks away. For that matter, it really IS a superb piece for this locality, of which there are few equals - and hence of a higher stature relative to Kaok dioptase specimens found than to Tsumeb pieces of which there are admittedly better and bigger (and much pricier) specimens out there. The chrysocolla association is unique to this localiy and is not found at Tsumeb.
K-115 - Dioptase on Chrysocolla - $ 2750 SOLD Otjikotu, Kaokoveld, Kunene, Namibia small cabinet, 6.8 x 5.5 x 4.5 cm ex. Charlie Key
A most colorful specimen due to the unusual richness of the associated chrysocolla, which makes for striking contrast to the brilliantly green dioptase. Like the above specimen, this is of VERY unusual quality for the location in both condition and overall aesthetics. The closeups show clearly that the quality of the dioptase is good in its own right, aside from the added value of the contrasting association. Lastly, most specimens with any decent chrysocolla I have seen from here have "matrixy" look to them...here the chrysocolla itself IS specimen-worthy in that the botryoidal grapelike growths are more than just "background".
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