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Mineral Specimens with Quartz
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6.7 x 3.2 x 2.3 cm. This specimen was found about 5-6 months ago (2009), and is one of the more attractive Cassiterite association specimens that I have encountered in years. Bolivia has probably produced more tin than any other country in the world. The great tin mines at Viloco (sometimes called Araca) have produced some of the most magnificent Cassiterite specimens extant. This particular specimen hosts fine, sharp, highly lustrous, black-brown cyclic twinned crystals measuring up to 9 mm across which are associated with very eye-catching Quartz crystals that actually have small Smoky Quartz "phantoms" in the center of the prisms.
WOW! This phenomenal piece features a window-clear 2.75 cm fluorite crystal perched smartly atop a nest of quartz crystals. It is good just for that reason alone. However, it has INCLUDED WITHIN it numerous quartz crystals as well as a deeper purple fluorite phantom crystal. The quartzes are included , and not just overgrown by the fluorite - you can tell in person quite clearly by their orientation and relation to the surface of the crystal. I would guess they grew upon the earlier generation of fluorite, which then was covered by the later, transparent crystal that also enclosed the quartz at that time. IN PERSON, THE PIECE IS TRULY MESMERIZING and unique, even amongst so many chinese fluorites to hit the market... 7.2 x 3.6 x 3.5 cm
9.2 x 7.7 x 6.0 cm. A classic and hard-to-find Amethyst specimen from the Capurru Quarry in Italy. The piece features several sharp, rather lustrous, gemmy, prismatic, lavender colored Amethyst crystals on snow white Quartz on matrix. I am told by an Italian friend that the best Amethyst crystals from Italy are found at this quarry. There are some small bright red inclusions in the Amethyst crystals and specks on the surface of the specimen of Hematite which gives a nice touch to the piece. Overall, the piece is essentially damage free. Ex. Brian Kosnar Collection.
3.9 x 1.7 x 1.6 cm. The French Alps are renowned for their superb pink and red Fluorite specimens, but they also produce some superb Alpine Quartz specimens. This piece is a rarity among Quartz specimens as it is a "Faden" (German word for string). It has a pastel smoky color, but due to the razor sharp faces, crystal clarity and high luster, the "Faden" within is very easy to see, running the length of the specimen. This piece was recently collected on Mt Blanc over the past summer (2009).
5.5 x 3.8 x 3.4 cm. Richard Kosnar mined the Sweet Home for a few years during the late 1970's and managed to collect some excellent Rhodochrosite specimens. This piece is from one of the last pockets that Rich opened before he was done at the mine. The Rhodochrosite crystals on this specimen have great pink-red color with excellent sharpness and gemminess. They are associated with a gemmy purple dodecahedron of Fluorite on thin "needle" Quartz crystals on matrix. The largest Rhodochrosite crystal measures 10 mm across. This mine is now completely defunct, and will never produce these world-class quality Rhodochrosite specimens again. Ex. Richard Kosnar Collection.
5.0 x 4.4 x 3.8 cm. Just an interesting pseudomorph replacement of coral from a strange locale; the first I have seen. Ex. Richard Hauck Collection.
4.6 x 4.3 x 2.8 cm. What was once a flower-like cluster of glauberite is now quartz. The original glauberite has disappeared, leaving just a hollow shell. The largest crystal is 2.0 cm in length. Fascinating. Ex. Richard Hauck Collection.
A truly spectacular specimen of GEMMY, OLIVE-GREEN sphalerite crystals with incredible lustre, perched on quartz matrix. It is much better in person and is really just striking and colorful (you get an idea from the closeup), though hard to photograph. I have seen a lot of these over the years and few so rich and colorful as this fine plate. MUCH BETTER IN PERSON... 10.3 x 6.7 x 5.1 cm
THis dramatic specimen consists of a large multicolored tourmaline which grows out of a hand-shaped quartz crystal at its base, and is accented by sharp quartz crystals on the backside which hang out to the sides. It has one fairly clean repair about the middle, but is otherwise undamaged save for a small notch which may even be natural, on the lefthand side about 1 inch below the termination. For the size and display impact, I think it is priced cheaply. YOu do not get many tourmalines of almost 5 inches in size, and with matrix association no less, for this price! 12.1 x 6.6 x 5 cm
This gwindel is amazing! It is, in person, so clear, and so clean, and so lustrous, that it will blow you away. I do not use such hyperbole often because I want to save it for when I really mean it...and I do NOT get excited about quartz in general, either. This is not just my opinion...rather, it was formerly in the noted personal collection of German dealer Uli Burchard (which recently was sold) and had been there for many years as one of his top Alpine pieces, he says. Those who have seen the piece agree with me that, for its size, it is certainly one of the best examples. The gwindel itself is perhaps 30-degrees twisted and measures 11 cm from tip to tip. It is pristine save only for a contact on the very bottom of the back side of the piece. The front is particularly dramatic because it is framed by two diverging prismatic smoky quartz crystals shooting to either side, giving the gwindel in the middle some contrast in style. What is MOST amazing about the piece, though, is that it is so well-balanced on MATRIX. You almost NEVER see good gwindels on matrix from the Alps and it is this association that really sets off the crysatl and makes the piece even more special. 11 x 7.5 x 5.4 cm
15.3 x 3.8 x 3.7 cm. This is easily one of the most unique, novel, bizarre, and simply downright unusual specimens of quartz I have ever seen. It happens also to be from an old classic and highly desirable locale, too. A beautifully-formed crystal of translucent, pastel-amethystine quartz is the scepter atop a terminated shaft of translucent, green, hedenbergite-included quartz. When backlit it practically glows with soft colors. Ex. Dr. Edward David Collection.
7.0 x 6.3 x 2.3 cm. From the collection of Dr. Edward David, this has always been one of my favorite of his quartzes because of the incredibly dramatic twist to the piece. Gwindels are by definition twisted, but as George Orwell would say...not all gwindels are equal. This piece also has great lustre, good tapering form from base to tip, and the rich smoky color that you should desire most in a classic Swiss gwindel. This is a stellar example of this classic habit and locality for the size.
5.3 x 2.8 x 1.9 cm. World class epidote specimens have been found in only a couple of places, and in the U.S. this location is Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. This location has produced outstanding collector specimens for over a hundred years. This specimen is a fine example of an epidote from this historical location. Having come from the Washington Roebling collection, this piece came out prior to the mid-1920’s. This specimen consists of a very sharp single deep-green crystal with minor amounts of quartz. The crystal is doubly terminated and has a highly polished luster. The quartz crystals are milky-translucent and are also terminated. Great classic example of the finest U.S. epidotes, and with a wonderful pedigree. Ex. Richard Hauck, Washington Roebling, and Smithsonian Collections.
10.6 x 6.8 x 5.0 cm. Here we have a fine Smoky Quartz and Amethyst specimen from a new find in Hallelujah Junction in California. I obtained this specimen directly from the miner who collected it. It actually has great form and color for any locality, but is especially attractive for a U.S. piece. This is a large, sharp, lustrous, well formed, very gemmy crystal with smoky and purple "Amethyst" bi-color zoning. Certainly one of the most interesting and gemmiest pieces of this material that I have seen.
9.2 x 6.4 x 5.7 cm. A classic older specimen from the Ray Mine of pretty sky-blue, chrysocolla-tinted, drusy blue quartz coating and growing on chrysocolla stalactites. Contacting on the top and part of the base are noted but this remains a very fine, two-sided specimen of this classic combination. It is older material from this very well-known mine, with even the specific locality within the mine being known. The exact mine location is the 1900 Level, Ballpark Bench.
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Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com
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share specimen![Cassiterite, Quartz from Viloco Mine (Araca mine), Loayza Province, La Paz Department, Bolivia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-275106a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-275106a.jpg)
![Cassiterite, Quartz from Viloco Mine (Araca mine), Loayza Province, La Paz Department, Bolivia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-275106b.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-275106b.jpg)
![Cassiterite, Quartz from Viloco Mine (Araca mine), Loayza Province, La Paz Department, Bolivia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-275106c.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-275106c.jpg)
![Fluorite, Quartz from Shangbao Pyrite mine, Leiyang Co., Hengyang Prefecture, Hunan Province, China [db_pics/mdpics/MD-27513a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-27513a.jpg)
![Quartz (Var: Amethyst), Quartz from Capurru Quarry, Osilo, Sassari Province, Sardinia, Italy [db_pics/mdpics/MD-275136a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-275136a.jpg)
![Quartz (Var: Amethyst), Quartz from Capurru Quarry, Osilo, Sassari Province, Sardinia, Italy [db_pics/mdpics/MD-275136b.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-275136b.jpg)
![Quartz (Var: Smoky Quartz) from Mt Blanc Massif, Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, Rhône-Alpes, France [db_pics/mdpics/MD-275138a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-275138a.jpg)
![Rhodochrosite, Fluorite, Quartz from Sweet Home Mine (Home Sweet Home Mine), Mount Bross, Alma District, Park Co., Colorado, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-275147a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-275147a.jpg)
![Rhodochrosite, Fluorite, Quartz from Sweet Home Mine (Home Sweet Home Mine), Mount Bross, Alma District, Park Co., Colorado, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-275147b.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-275147b.jpg)
![Rhodochrosite, Fluorite, Quartz from Sweet Home Mine (Home Sweet Home Mine), Mount Bross, Alma District, Park Co., Colorado, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-275147c.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-275147c.jpg)
![Quartz from Ramsey, Colorado Co., Texas, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-275150a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-275150a.jpg)
![Quartz from Ramsey, Colorado Co., Texas, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-275150b.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-275150b.jpg)
![Quartz from Houdaille Quarry (Consolidated Stone and Sand Company Quarry; Consolidated Quarry), Little Falls Township, Passaic Co., New Jersey, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-275159a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-275159a.jpg)
![Sphalerite, Quartz from Krushev dol deposit, Krushev dol mine, Madan ore field, Rhodope Mts, Smolyan Oblast, Bulgaria [db_pics/mdpics/MD-27520a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-27520a.jpg)
![Tourmaline, Quartz from Konar (Kunar; Konarh; Konarha; Nuristan) Province, Afghanistan [db_pics/mdpics/MD-27522a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-27522a.jpg)
![Quartz (Var: Smoky Quartz) from Giuv Valley, Tujetsch (Tavetsch), Vorderrhein Valley, Grischun (Grisons; Graubünden), Switzerland [db_pics/mdpics/MD-27537a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-27537a.jpg)
![Quartz (Var: Amethyst), Quartz, Hedenbergite from Mega Horio, Serifos Island (Seriphos), Cyclade Islands (Cyclades; Kikladhes; Nomos Kikladhon), Kykládes Prefecture, Aegean Islands (AiyaÃon) Department, Greece [db_pics/mdpics/MD-276247a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-276247a.jpg)
![Quartz (Var: Smoky Quartz) from Göschenen Valley, Uri, Switzerland [db_pics/mdpics/MD-276250a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-276250a.jpg)
![Epidote, Quartz from Copper Mountain, Prince of Wales Island, Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Borough, Alaska, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-276287a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-276287a.jpg)
![Epidote, Quartz from Copper Mountain, Prince of Wales Island, Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Borough, Alaska, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-276287b.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-276287b.jpg)
![Quartz (Var: Smoky Quartz), Quartz (Var: Amethyst) from 30 miles north of Reno, Hallelujah Junction, Petersen Mountain, Washoe Co., Nevada, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-278115a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-278115a.jpg)
![Quartz, Chrysocolla from Ray Mine, Scott Mountain area, Mineral Creek District (Ray District), Dripping Spring Mts, Pinal Co., Arizona, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-278304a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-278304a.jpg)