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Nearly a complete foater, this specimen features intergrown, lustrous, black schorl crystals, to 2.5 cm across, upon which rises a pristine, single, thick, glassy and gemmy, intensely-colored, aquamarine crystal... An absolutely elegant specimen! In fact this is one of the more starkly dramatic of the specimens in this size range, and is really superb from ANY angle at all. The large upright crystal is 3 x 1.5 x 1.2 cm in size.
What makes this combination specimen of schorl and aquamarine special is that it ALSO contains two spear-like crystals of smoky quartz, to 4.5 cm in length. Quartz seems rare in this pocket at least. Additonally, this plate of feldspar matrix is smothered by lustrous, black, schorl crystals to 2.75 cm across; and a bevy of glassy and gemmy, intensely colored, blue aquamarine crystals to 4.0 cm in length. A few aquas exhibit very minor wear on their terminations but it is trivial in context, and the piece overall has a very stark and fine separation to the crystals which highlights their sharp form. Lastly, the right side of the specimen is coated liberally by hyalite opal in small white crystals. .
This specimen is highlighted by large, intergrown, lustrous , black schorl crystals, to 2.5 cm; and glassy and gemmy, intensely colored, blue aquamarine crystals, with one to 6 cm in length. The three largest aqua crystals are doubly-terminated! And pristine... At the bottom of the specimen, two aquas are broken at the base, but this pales to insignificance. Otherwise all is complete and the contrast of blue on black is, really, striking.
A mound of intergrown, lustrous, black, schorl crystals, to 3 cm across is topped by glassy and gemmy, intensely-colored, blue aquamarine crystal, measuring 4.0 cm in length. At least two of the schorls are doubly-terminated. The back, or non display side, of this specimen has been contacted and the back of the termination of the aqua has a few dings: however, when properly displayed, the contact is not visible. In fact this is one of the more starkly dramatic of the specimens in this size range, and is really superb from the front viewing angle. The large upright crystal is 3 x 1.3 x 1 cm in size.
Ivory colored feldspar is the matrix for a plate of intergrown, lustrous, black, schorl crystals, to 2.5 cm across, upon which are emplaced several, glassy and gemmy, intensely colored, blue aquamarine crystals, to 4 cm in length. A few aqua crystals on the right side are unterminated either by contact or damage; but the major cluster of 8 aquamarines at the left, as shown, are all terminated and pristine. Normally I would trim the plate in the middle, leaving a pristine small cab on the left, with those 8 gemmy crystals - and at a higher price for the perfection. However, the large cluster of schorl is such nice contrast, I just left the piece large still, as the blue-black contrast really does add visually, I feel.
Emplaced on ivory colored feldspar are lustrous, black schorl crystals, to 4.0 cm in length. Perched on the schorl are several glassy and gemmy, intensely-colored, blue aquamarine crystals, to 6.1 cm in length. The largest schorl is rather equant in form and the largest aqua is doubly terminated, slicing right across that large schorl for maximal contrast not only of color, but of geometry as well. The center of the specimen is dominated by jewel-like, very gemmy, slender aquas on schorl, all atop the feldspar which you can see in some places underlaying. One schorl was broken and then rehealed over, in situ, making for an odd surface face. As with most of this pocket, there are just a few very unobtrusive dings here or there, but you have to really work hard to find them. Out of all the aquas here, only a few of the very smallest are broken, the rest being terminated well. Overall, this is a large plate with lots of flash, and good 3-dimensionality
Even amongst so many unusual association pieces from this pocket, without question this is a very elegant and unusual combo specimen. An ivory-colored feldspar crystal (slightly etched but sharp enough) extends above the lustrous, black schorl crystals (to 3.5 cm across), and is transected by a doubly terminated, glassy and gemmy, intensely-colored, blue aquamarine crystal measuring 6.2 cm in length. That long aqua shows both terminations fully freestanding, and is pristine except for a few very small dings on the top (you must look closely to see them). Other aquas play a minor role as accents, including two that are contacted or broken but only on the back side. The graceful scuptural configuration of this specimen is absolutely first rate! It really hosts and displays the main aqua "front and center."
ex. Ernie Schlichter
Encapsulated in silvery muscovite mica, the gemmy, light blue, lustrous aquamarine crystal reveals itself like a piece of fine sculpture. This rather large aqua has a near pristine basal termination which is 3 cm across. It is lustrous and has a typical Nagar steely blue color. It is complete, except for some minor contacting on teh back face. IN fact, looking now, it is also doubly-terminated with the tip extending through the muscovite and appearing at the base
ex. Ernie Schlichter
This freeform, partially dissolved morganite beryl presents as a colorful, vibrantly glassy and colorful piece. It stands on its own. Although exhibiting extremely lustrous crystal faces over a portion of this specimen which reflect light from just about every angle (MAKING IT MUCH MORE LUSTROUS IN PERSON THAN IT APPEARS), there is some contacting on the bottom and lower portions of the sides, I think - it is very hard to tell given the processes of dissolution and rehealing evidently at work in the pocket. The uniformly rich, pink color and the depth of transparency along with the unusually large size, make this piece very rare and showy as i have seen similarly formed AQUAMARINE from the area, but not so in the way of larger morganites. Weight: 193 grams.
This speicmen is more than jus tyour normal aqua because of the starkly contrastign accents of schorl running throughout its beltline. There is literally a forest of small schorls included inside, at the midpoint of the crystal, on a flat plane that probably represents an internal termination from which the aqua continued to grow after the schorl deposition on the sides and top of the previous generation of crystal> The aqua above is very gemmy and bright, with good lustre. The color is enhanced visually by the contrast! The crystal is complete all around and quite nearly pristine, with just a few of the most minor of dings but otherwise perfect
A very dramatic, 3-D, sculptural, UNREPAIRED cluster with no significant damage, complete all around, AND nearly a floater with just a minute matrix contact point on the bottom...for under 5k?! I got it as a fixer upper, and am passing it on! This central crystal is 10 x 4 x 4 cm in size and it sprouts two narrow crystals at its feet and one small stubby crystal of about 1 cm, atop. That small crystal looks like it broken and rehealed in the pocket, and in any case is just an accent atop and not a distraction. There are a few TINY dings, to be precise, but nothing of any consequence to display or value. The inclusions you see are , inperson, very interesting minute specks of schorl, iron staining, and perhaps minute garnets inside.
A simply stunning, fat thumbnail-sized crystal of emerald with very good COLOR , LUSTRE , and GEMMINESS...in person, much better than you can relate from the pics. The termination is awesome - large, equant, and super-glassy. You can look right down through the crystal to read what is below it, with total clarity! This has some intrinsic facet rough value although it is admittedly a shade lighter than the more expensive emerald hues and has some internal veiling; but this is ironically of benefit to the specimen collector because its still very appealing as a specimen crystal and yet it survived the cutter because of slight flaws that do not matter as much in a specimen as in the cut stone. Also, if it were of the highest cutting grade, it would be unaffordable to the specimen collector - so one looks for the compromise between top quality and visual appeal in buying an emerald crystal, always aiming to have SOME intrinsic cutting value at the same time as trading it off for a few little internal veils that prohibit you from having to pay the stupid rough pricing on these guys. It is so clear and transparent that the piece is MUCH more gemmy in person because the camera cannot focus well on the crystal without going through to the back faces.
This is a riveting crystal of TOP QUALITY, with the best color, exceptional gem-grade gemminess to the top 1/3, and association with calcite to make it a nifty "matrixy" specimen instead of just another loose single as we so often see. The crystal has intense color, diminished slightly by the stunning clarity in the top portions but still very , very impressive, such that for combination of qualities I rate this very highly. The crystal is SHARPly hexagonal with exquisite form, complete all around save for one teeny ding on a back edge of the termination. As an estimate, there should be at least 20% recoverable facet rough of high quality in the top portion above the calcite attachments, so figure 8 carats. Even with loss to cutting, you can probably get a CLEAN 3-4 carat stone out of this, I would think (at $1500-2500 per carat fair value). However, I don't wish to take the cutting risk and its a tragedy to do that to a good thumbnail gem crystal! So, here is a piece whos eintrinsic value probably is MORE THAN its specimen price here, for those reasons.
ex. Richard Kosnar
GEM: 1.0 x 0.6 x 0.4 cm (1.87 carats) A really neat set of a single terminated crystal and a gem cut from rough found on this famous find, by Richard Kosnar. He passed the rough to his sons, and the gem was cut by Brett Kosnar recently . The stone is simply valued at $187 , my cost.
ex. Dr. Eugene Meieran
This is a bizarre beastoie from a different part of Brazil than we normally see producing morganite. This area is more known for topaz, and other gems. The crystal has at best a peachy color, not quite pink, but it IS colorful and a true morganite. It is gemmy right through the middle and has a matte-finished, opaque rind around the edge which actuually serves to enhance the visual effect of the startling, see-thru gemminess elsewhere. Above this "rind" is anotehr , thin, gemmy layer of translucecnt to transparent beryl. The net eeffect of this is to create a "phantom" inside! How many "phantom" morganites have you ever seen around?! Myself, none. Literally, I have just not seen another morganite from anywhere like this.If I did not get it from Gene (a beryl specialist for a long time with investments in mining in Brazil!), who got it from a Brazilian dealer 30 years ago, I would swear this was Afghani of a weird color. Biut, it surely is Brazilian!
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share specimen![Aquamarine with Schorl from Erongo Mountain, Usakos District, Erongo Region, Namibia [db_pics/new09/er38a.jpg]](db_pics/new09/er38a.jpg)
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