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GEMS-055 - Apatite (Large and neon) - $ 4500 SOLD Madagascar thumbnail, 26.24 x 17.02 mm ; 33.6 carats
This is simply the largest stone of this material that I've ever handled. Apatite is usually found in somber color gems and stones up to 10 carats are not common. This material from Madagascar is most often seen in stones about 1-2 carats in weight, and this stone blows them out of the water. First off, you never see gems with this color from any locality in this size. The intensity of the blue in this gem is as rich and saturated as any neon Apatite I've seen from Madagascar. The color in person has a slight green overtone that does not show up in the photos, but it is still very rich. Secondly, the clarity of this gem is superb as it is only very very slightly included, which is more than forgivable in a stone this size. An amazingly impressive museum quality stone with outstanding color and sheer weight.
GEMS-074 - Apatite - $ 90 Madagascar thumbnail, 8.0 x 5.0 mm ; 1.37 carats
Madagascar has stood as a source for some of the most attractive blue and green Apatite gems in the world. This stone has a wonderful caribbean blue green” shade which combined with the eye clean clarity and Emerald” cut makes this a very good Apatite gem of this classic material.
GEMS-114 - Apatite - $ 150 Durango, Mexico thumbnail, 11.3 x 6.7 mm ; 4.03 carats
These are some of the most classic Apatites out there. This material is well known for its unique greenish-yellow color. This stone has an Emerald cut and only very very slight inclusions. These stones truly are a lot less common to find on the market today than they were 10-15 years ago and it seems that the material has "dried up". A great collector’s stone with good size, cutting, clarity and color.
HECK-231 - Apatite - $ 450 Cerro de Mercado, Durango, Mexico miniature, 4.5 x 2.8 x 2.3 cm ex. Richard Heck
This is a robust, well formed crystal of glassy and gemmy, yellow-green colored fluorapatite from Cerro Mercado. Classic old material, seldom found in this size with such good color saturation , today. Minor bruising on the terminal edges does exist but the size and gemminess of the crystal makes these tiny drawbacks acceptable in context, at the right price. It is a little more green-yellow than yellow-green, in person.
J11T-163 - Apatite - $ 2000 SOLD LaMarina Mine, Boyaca Department, Colombia miniature, 5.1 x 3.1 x 1.2 cm
A complete floater crystal, terminated all around, of stunning rich pink apatite from this emerald district. These first started straggling out about 10 years ago in thumbnails and broken shards. This large miniature, though, is one of the finest I have yet seen. It has deep , rich color and a high glassy lustre making them more colorful and impressive than most pink apatites. More translucent/transparent in person, too.
RLKG10-134 - Apatite - $ 450 Durango, Mexico thumbnail, 13.6 x 9.8 mm ; 5.92 carats
These are some of the most classic Apatites out there. This material is well known for it's unique greenish-yellow color. This particular stone is a suprisingly clean gem for the size. This stone has an Oval cut and eye clean clarity. These stones truly are a lot less common to find on the market today than they were 10 years ago and it seems that the material has "dried up". A great collectors stone with excellent size, cutting, clarity and color.
RLKG10-145 - Apatite (neon) - $ 75 SOLD Bahia, Brazil thumbnail, 5.0 mm ; 0.57 carats
First off, let me say that this is one of the most phenomenal colors in the gem world. It is very difficult to photograph as it has a very strong electric blue color. It is a good size stone from a lesser known locality in Brazil. In my opinion, these are the BEST blue color Apatite gems that I have seen from anywhere in the world. Please note that this stone has been heated to bring out more of the color, and all of these gems are heated, so it is a very well known practice that is accepted among all dealers and collectors in the hobby. This Round cut gem has one of the most attractive and electric colors for Apatite that I know of. I would like to point out that the color in person does not look exactly like the pictures, but that neon hue is almost impossible to duplicate with the camera.
RLKG10-175 - Apatite - $ 750 Durango, Mexico thumbnail, 18.1 x 10.1 mm ; 10.96 carats
These are some of the most classic Apatites out there. This material is well known for it's unique greenish-yellow color. This particular stone is a suprisingly clean gem for the size. This stone has a Cushion cut and eye clean clarity. These stones are a lot less common to find on the market today than they were 10-15 years ago and it seems that the material has "dried up". A great collectors stone with excellent size, cutting, clarity and color.
RLKG10-192 - Apatite - $ 125 Brazil thumbnail, 9.4 x 7.5 mm ; 2.43 carats
Apatite from Brazil is becoming more and more difficult to find as the best deposits for the material dried up years ago, and is only being found in small sporadic areas. I don't see many green Apatite stones from Brazil these days. The stone has a lovely green-yellow color. It is very slightly included with a Step Pear cut. A good representative Apatite with a fairly hard to find color.
TUC10-07 - Apatite - $ 2000 Panasquiera, Portugal miniature, 4.0 x 3.3 x 3.0 cm
A most unusual apatite from this once productive locality, with the unusual feature of several layers of concentric growth. This is something you often see from here, in crude form, but seldom so sharply defined, and with such contrasting colors! It looks like it has an eyeball in the middle! The apatite is complete all around, composed of 2 sidecar crystals and the one major crystal . It is far more impressive in person, and is one of the most unique Panasquiera apatites I have seen , in style. This piece hits you with its unusual style, and to me is one of the most sexy minaiture sized apatites I have seen, if not the most pricey
TUC104-34 - Apatite - $ 1450 Cerro Mercado, Durango, Mexico small cabinet, 5.7 x 4.3 x 3.6 cm
This is an oldtimer, with a fatter style not seen in (sparse) modern finds here. It is a 5 x 2.5 x 2.5 cm crystal, really lustrous, with a wonderful pear-green color to it. The crystal is complete all around and achored nicely into the matrix. Seldom do you see such significant examples of these, for sale today. Even back "in the day" when most came out in the 1960s and early 1970s, such size was not common.
TUC114-030 - Apatite on Albite - $ 300 Burg, Fiesch Glacier, Rhone Valley, Valais Switzerland thumbnail, 2.2 x 1.7 x 1 cm
A choice thumbnail specimen featuring a 1.5-cm-across gem-clear apatite, perched on a few small crystals of albite. Neat association and perfect balance make this a classy thumbnail apatite, from a very unusual locality. Good Swiss apatites of any quality , let alone nice gemmy ones, are hard to come by. Ex Alain Martaud specimen. Joe Budd Photos
TUC114-045 - Apatite in Calcite - $ 2250 SOLD Cerro de Mercado Mine, Victoria de Durango, Durango, Mexico miniature, 5.0 x 5.0 x 3.3 cm ex. Jason New
This is, according to the man who brought them out to market in the last 5 years, the finest miniature recovered in the modern reworking of this old locale. It was found around 2008 and was in the collection of Jason New until recently (he and his family run a large specimen mining operation in Mexico , and he has superb taste in specimens to keep!). I am told that the production of truly good pieces from this mine is now only a few per year, with the majority being "wholesale or bulk level" material. The large crystal is 3.2 cm tall and is SUPER GEMMY. You may have seen old apatites from this mine. They were gemmy too. But, this one has a degree of clarity and internal brightness that must rank it highly, and to my eye it is simply a little bit finer in quality than any older examples I have seen in the size class. It is brighter, sharper, more lustrous, as a gem crystal. Also, the piece is simply very aesthetic, overall.Joe Budd Photos
TUC115-218 - Turquoise after Apatite - $ 1450 La Caridad Mine, La Caridad, Mun. de Nacozari de Garcia, Sonora, Mexico miniature, 4.5 x 2.1 x 1.5 cm ex. Ken Roberts
This sharp specimen is one of the finest single crystals I have seen in watching these trickle out for about a dozen years. It has exceptional sharpness, whereas most are rounded; and it also has a great surface lustre, where most are matte finish. The even coloration and deep saturation also add to its qualities, and make it stand out from the others I have seen - many bigger, but not finer. From the noted pseudomorph collection of Ken Roberts. This is a rare replacement pseudomorph. Joe Budd photos
TUC115-230 - Apatite - $ 750 Imilchil, High Atlas Mts, Er Rachidia, Meknes Region, Morocco small cabinet, 6.2 x 3.5 x 2.9 cm
Apatite from Imilchil is generally small and frankly has not interested me much before. This choice, robust, complete crystal is unusual for its size and geometric perfection. I very much like the extra bevelled faces at the termination. From new finds of Novermber-December 2010, this was one of the largest intact, complete crystals available at the Tucson show of 2011. Joe Budd Photos
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