A gorgeous peachy-pink morganite crystal with INTENSE color (unusually deep hued!), perched on a natural pedestal of albite. The crystal is 7 cm and complete, not repaired, and is fairly translucent. This is a piece that looks impressive, yet does not break the bank to own. Few morganites are coming out anymore, from Afghanistan, and fewer still cthat are any kind of quality can be had in this price range. Luckily, we got it as a trimmer/fixer and were able to expose the crystal ourselves, from the confining matrix, to create a more aesthetic piece.

This is a briliantly lustrous, sparkling blue specimen that is large and unrepaired. The major crystal is 4 inches tall, and 2 inches across the termination! ALL crystals here are GLASSY, with the best lustre I have seen, almost glassy and polished in appearance. Even the terminations share the incredible lustre and clarity. Within the larger crystal is a large moving water bubble, easily seen; and a few smaller ones as well. The whole piece is a pocket floater! It broke away from the pocket wall and the backside was microcrystallized, so it is complete even on the bottom in a technical sense. More importantly, it look sgood all around, 360 degrees. I have not seen any aquas quite like this one, with the combination of lustre, color, and interesting inclusions (that serve to disperse light and enhance the color and sparkle inside). I will also add that large aqua plates like this, with no repairs, are VERY uncommon. The "Roof of the World" was not as productive this past summer season...pickings were slim at the Denver Show and this one, which I bought from a normal supplier en route to the show, was one of the very few pieces of any significance I saw there. I was lucky to get it as well, as this person holds a US citizenship and other Pakistani and Afghani dealers seem to have not been able to clear the visa hurdles to get their specimens here, this year.

This matrix piece features a centered crystal of pastel blue aquamarine, of absolutely limpid clarity and high internal brightness. The crystal measures about 4 x 4 x 3.5 cm in size and is pristine, not a ding on it. There are dozens of teeny tiny accent crystals that add sparkle to it, really apparent in person, coating one side. The muscovite matrix in which it is nestled contrasts with the form and color of the sharp hexagonal beryl. While Nagar aquamarines are common at some level, this is an outstanding piece for the price range and aesthetics, that I think rises above the crowd. Joe Budd photos

A beautiful emerald with the vibrant green color and glassy lustre characteristic of La Pita Mine, 3.6 cm tall, contrasted nicely on its matrix. Recently mined in early 2011, this is a most unusual specimen in that the emerald is perched on, rather embedded IN, a large rhombohedral calcite crystal. The emerald is uncracked and unrepaired, remarkable for one of this size - they usually show stress fractures at this size. It is not a thin crystal either - you can look into its depths and see it goes into the calcite. The calcite is sawed on the bottom and back, where it had to be cut out of surrounding hard rock- this does not show from the display face, in any case. What is particularly nice about this piece, is that it is very , very difficult to get anything like this display size in an emerald, without breaking the bank. While there is a compromise in that the crystal is embedded in the calcite, you get a lot of emerald and a lot of green flash in a larger piece than one might expect, for the money. Joe Budd photos

This is a very large, robust crystal featuring deep saturated color and high luster. It is a perfectly balanced thumbnail, with just the right amount of matrix to accent but not overwhelm. Most such thumbnails are small, spindly crystals. This is fat and impressive at 10 x 8 x 19 mm in size

A simply stunning gem aquamarine with pastel blue color that contrasts with the stark white crystallized matrix. The photos do NOT do this piece justice. It has absolutely total transparency, an attractive bevelled prism termination, and is perfectly placed in just the right amount of contrasting matrix. For a miniature, to combine such qualities with matrix association, is rare. This is , in person, stunning. ex. Richard and Mary Nelson Collection