This is a fine old classic but also an aesthetic, well-balanced specimen at the same time, featuring a superb bournonite crystal perched at the top of a knoll of lustrous quartz crystals! The bournonite measures 2.5 cm across and has excellent form combined with naturally bright lustre (i.e. it hasn't been chemically cleaned to make it too bright). The piece displays well from both sides and sits nicely on its own, without need of support. It is one of the best for its size of this classic association that I have seen for sale in recent years and is unusual in its superb aesthetics beyond that simple statement. Leithauser REALLY had good taste and did not just buy classics to have them...he waited until the perfect aesthetic example of a classic came along, and only then got his piece. You'll see in the collection how few duplicates he had, because he really was after the stereotypical representation of a "classic," and seldom settled for anything less than a piece that exemplified everything you would want in an important old locality piece but ALSO had the aesthetics you'd demand in a contemporary specimen. This is one such.

Erupting straight up from two glassy and gemmy, colorless quartz crystals to 4.5 cm in length, is a limpid, glassy and gemmy, colorless topaz crystal. This gem is bright and pretty - 2 inches (just over 5 cm) in length in total. The topaz is superbly centered high on its matrix. The mass is 114 grams. From the Burma collection of "Burma Bill" Larson, who has for decades brought out gems and then minerals as this region opened up to the trade in specimens.

Well, its really, really big....a good US quartz from anywhere but again, extremely unusual for a San Diego specimen with all the geologic disruption here!