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ex. Richard Hauck
A gorgeous and classic Cripple Creek amethyst specimen with an antique Ward's Science Establishment label dating it to pre-WWI in the early 1900s (per the Mineralogical Record label archives). The script is in Henry Ward's own hand! Complete all around 360 degrees; and nearly pristine save only a small kiss on the very tip (hard to see, anyhow). However, the pedigree aside, its just an incredible and aesthetic example of a classic old find we rarely see today, even in museums. So few good examples of these have been on the market!
ex. Richard Hauck
A bizarre,m organic-looking smoky quartz that was naturally etched in its pocket by solutions to produce this artistic-looking single crystal that is a compelte floater all around, with brilliant reflections off its many micro-faces. MUCH better in person, and quite rare in form for the lcoation.
ex. Clarence Bement ex. Richard Hauck ex. Smithsonian Institution
This specimen is a lustrous, bright, pleasing color and is doubly-terminated with multiply-terraced faces extending out on each tip. It is complete on the display face but for one minor tip, and has contact on the left edge and backside, but presents as a complete floater from the front view. Note an inked black arrow on the back of this specimen was made by the early-1900s AMNH curator Gratacap in curating the display specimens from the Bement collection after it was donated to the AMNH by financier JP Morgan, who purchased the collection after Bement's death. The arrow denotes the rear direction on the shelf on which the specimen was to be placed, thus showing its proper orientation on the display shelves of the museum. As the MinRecord archive states, Clarence Sweet Bement was one of the greatest American mineral collectors of all time, from around 1866 to 1900, known for his high level of taste in specimens - even in the oddities such as this! Click on this link to see a copy of the original early 1900s accession book from the American Museum archives: CLICK HERE
ex. Richard Hauck
An interesting old English piece, with quartz crystals soaring up from an (unusual) pyrite-rich matrix. Small "chalcpoyrites" which I believe to actually be tetrahedrite, are intermixed near the base of the quartz crystals and within them, on the matrix.
ex. Richard Hauck
A stunning clear quartz cluster, no doubt a very old one , from Arkansas' classic quartz mines. It is complete all around and remarkably in very good condition. Exceptional clarity and quality even by modern standards, if you have ever wanted a truly oustanding one of these "common" minerals without breaking the bank.
ex. Clarence Bement ex. Richard Hauck ex. Smithsonian Institution
A superb and unusually large floater, single crystal of smoky quartz, miraculously in excellent condition despite being over 100 years old! Interesting, and I have not seen this often on this form of quartz from here, there are small hematite crystals perched atop, like sprinkles on two faces. Note an inked black arrow on the back of this specimen was made by the early-1900s AMNH curator Gratacap in curating the display specimens from the Bement collection after it was donated to the AMNH by financier JP Morgan, who purchased the collection after Bement's death. The arrow denotes the rear direction on the shelf on which the specimen was to be placed, thus showing its proper orientation on the display shelves of the museum. As the MinRecord archive states, Clarence Sweet Bement was one of the greatest American mineral collectors of all time, from around 1866 to 1900, known for his high level of taste in specimens. Bement #3290, and I am working on getting the original accession information as it has been lost with the specimen now. Click on this link to see a copy of the original early 1900s accession book from the American Museum archives: CLICK HERE
ex. Richard Hauck
A stunning, gemmy, intense purple cluster of the most lustrous amethuyst from Mexico you can ask for, from a famous find here. These crystals are so gemmy, they look pale in photos because the light runs through and does not capture the grape-juice color they have in person. This piece is particularly good because most are larger (and more pricey), and I have seen few small ones of this calibre. Thewre is a small bit of damage...though just on two peripheral crystals and not to the two major crystals. Ex. Eugene Sensel collection (and he noted on the back "exceptional specimen"!
ex. Richard Hauck
This is a very rare style of quartz where the secondary growth of quartz on the original crystalks attached, for some reaosn, ONLY to three of the prism faces of each previous crystal. The effect is this bizarre style of termination! I had never seen one of these, personally. Interesting for anybody concerned with oddities of quartz growth, I would think!
ex. Richard Hauck
A beautiful roseate cluster of 3 major crystals to 3 inches, , all with incredible glassy lustre (so slick, it look spolished but isnt!). The color is typical grape-juice color for the locale and pretty rich overall - better in person than it appears here. The piece is not pristine or it would cost 5-fold more, but the damage is limited to a few small dings (not on the main crysatl in any case) and some peripheral contacts at the junction of the crystals. It displays beautifully and is a significant example for the locale. Label dated 1966
ex. Richard Hauck
A rare Arkansas Japan law twin, and of considerable size, too! I am told that this piece was a famous blunder Dick was proud of, acquired in the 1960s from somebody who did not know the rarity of such things and used to illustrate how an awareness of unusual crystallography could help buy value in minerals. This is VERY significant for the locality, for a US quartz twin of this habit. It is unusually big and fat, for Arkansas twins, as well. The piece is complete both sides and has no damage of note save a small conchoidal bruise on the back of the leftmost temrination - a sad fact to be sure, but not visually distracting or significant in context.
ex. Richard Hauck ex. Smithsonian Institution
A really aesthetic and dramatic cluster of amethyst from a most hard-to-get locality today, though it was once known as a European classic some time ago. The color is more purple in person, grading to white - the photo just enhances the white portions for some reason at the expense of the color gradient. This old piece is complete all around and has only trivial wear, miraculously almost pristine. Comes with AMNH label (a modern label made at deaccession, though showing a very early accession number from the 1800s, #3475).
ex. Richard Hauck
A strange duo where the quartz crystal continued interrupted growth, but that interruption let a permanent barrier set up between the two portions of the crystal and so instead of a phantom, we have a detached "cap" that sits upon the original matrix and earlier crystal growth. REALLY WEIRD things, these! I have seen these bizarre "russian doll" quartzes before only from a few historic samples out of Cornwall, but this seems a valid example from somewhere else, the first I have seen. The old Lazard Cahn label dates this to 1927-1940, though it probably came to him already in an old collection, one would think.
ex. Richard Hauck
This is a stunning large rutilated quartz in unusually good condition, and with unuusally rich inclusions as well. If you hold it up to the light, or backlight it well, you can see not only a rich interior full of rutiles but a whole enclosed "rutile star" spray within, that would make for a very expensive lapidary piece if cut out and polished. These stars usually occur within more clear qurtz, but this one has a pleasing smoky hue that adds appeal. There is very minor edge wear to the rear of the termination and some damage on the small dsidecar crystal, but the main crystal is otherwise complete. This is an old specimen but even by today's standards , its vrey good in quality.
ex. Clarence Bement ex. Richard Hauck ex. Smithsonian Institution
A superb and unusually large example of quartz that has cast over an original growth of fluorite crystals, known sometimes from Cumberland in association with other things but really quite rare as a large piece like this. Beautiful specimen, complete on both sides! Note an inked black arrow on the back of this specimen was made by the early-1900s AMNH curator Gratacap in curating the display specimens from the Bement collection after it was donated to the AMNH by financier JP Morgan, who purchased the collection after Bement's death. The arrow denotes the rear direction on the shelf on which the specimen was to be placed, thus showing its proper orientation on the display shelves of the museum. As the MinRecord archive states, Clarence Sweet Bement was one of the greatest American mineral collectors of all time, from around 1866 to 1900, known for his high level of taste in specimens - even in the oddities such as this! Click on this link to see a copy of the original early 1900s accession book from the American Museum archives: CLICK HERE
ex. Richard Hauck
An interesting, and attractive deeply-colored locality piece, though honestly it has severe damage on the right hand side and some dings elsewhere. All Content and Design ©1996-2012 The ArkenstonePowered by http://mineralwebsites.comMineral Specimens by species; or by specimen id. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||