This is THE RED BERYL SPECIMEN TO OWN, if money is no object and other treasures are too common. It is not cheap by any means, in fact it is an insane price. But, it is considered by many to be one of the finest and most unique American mineral specimens in existence, and the changes of ownership have required that it comes with a price to match. It was mined and sold directly to prominent collector F John Barlow in the early 1990s (and is listed in his book, page 357, as the world's foremost example of the species). He had a core suite of 14 remarkable specimens of which this was the most important, and spent a fortune keeping on top of the finds here to have the best assemblage possible from this unique site. The locality is currently defunct but until recently was attracting the attention of gemstone giants like Tiffany's for its novel mineral. This particular piece is featured prominently in many media, including the F John Barlow Collection Book, Lapis special issues on beryls, and probably any other work that references red beryl. Although it "disappeared" briefly and could not make the American Mineral Treasures exhibition in Tucson in 2008, it well should have been in that compendium case. However, the photo was still chosen as the lead specimen for the Red Beryl chapter of the companion book to that monumental exhibition, and is shown full-page on page 217 of American Mineral Treasures. I now have it in my own hands, and am proud to offer this world class specimen that I view as one of the top 10 US mineral specimens in existence. I feel truly privileged to be able to offer this for sale. It is a literal Van Gogh in our mineral world. I am biased perhaps as I LOVE this rock. I have always loved this rock...it's a freaking 2 inch red emerald on matrix after all! Joe Budd photo on the graded background