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The discovery of wulfenite altering to quartz from the Finch Mine, in the last ten years, has made these specimens classics, because this type of pseudomorphing in nature is very rare. Reddish-orange crystals of quartz after wulfenite, to .6 cm across, cover the matrix. In addition, there are a few white rosettes of barite on some of the pseudo crystals. A most unusual occurrence! This is a rare cabinet-sized specimen from those finds, of about a decade ago.
ex. Charlie Key
This is a UNIQUE matrix tourmaline! An etched, lustrous, translucent to transparent, royal blue, elbaite, to 4.5 cm in length, is perched on a 9.5 cm-long, gray, quartz crystal that has alternating frosted and gemmy faces. Most of the Otjua elbaites were varying colors of rubellite, so this royal blue elbaite is much rarer. In fact, I have NEVER seen another. This and the single following both came in trade from the private stash of Charlie Key, who obtained them some 20 years ago in Africa. The indicolite is really blue, not blue-gray as some have been, and stands out dramatically - more so, in person.
With the mine now closed, good to great rhodos are getting scarcer and more expensive. This particular specimen features crystals to 1.2 cm across which are lustrous, translucent, and a deep, rich, pink color. As is common with soft minerals, there are minor abrasions to a few crystals. This does not diminish the overall appearance of the specimen. I sell so few of them now for several reasons, the chief among them being that few of the quality i woul dhave settled for in the old days are available now, and i will not lower my standards to sell what IS generally avbailable....now, good ones come only in old collections receycling or from old dealer stashes that are getting smaller and smaller.
Unusual! A slender, 4 cm long rhomb of translucent, rich pink, rhodo is aesthetically nestled between colorless, translucent, quartz crystals, to 4.0 cm in length. TThe rhodo is squished into a flat disc, but is a rhomb nonetheless. he huge size of China and its unlimited mineral potential, especially with a collector favorite like rhodochrosite, is going to dominate the new mineral market for years.
Translucent, lustrous, pseudo-octahedral crystals of orange scheelite, to 1.0 cm across, are nestled among colorless, transparent, quartz crystals, the longest of which measures almost 3 cm. This is from a new find in Pakistan, which I got ahold of recently! I have not seen others for sale, at least as of this time. NOTE: THIS IS NOT the same locality as previously known for Pakistani scheelite.
ex. Charlie Key
Most of the elbaites from this mine were pink rubellites with a few blue indicolites. But this translucent, lustrous, elbaite crystal has rubellite which zones into a gemmy teal blue and then to an opaque, indigo blue at the termination. Some minor edge wear is present, but not distracting. This and the piece above both came in trade from the private stash of Charlie Key, who obtained them some 20 years ago in Africa. The indicolite is really blue, not blue-gray as some have been, and stands out dramatically - more so, in person.
A matrix of lustrous, colorless, quartz crystals, to .6 cm in length, is the host for a superb, lustrous, translucent, amber yellow, doubly terminated, sphalerite crystal, which measures 3.0 cm across. The aesthetics of the specimen are wonderful. This deposit is much better known for its world class copper and silver specimens. These very rare gem crystals came out in the 1980s. FEW gemmy sphalerites, twinned no less, are of this size! I have not seen a good one for sale in a long time.
This is a new Asian deposit for scheelite. At this early stage of development it is difficult to know whether the scheelite crystals will ever grow as large and as fine as those from China. On this specimen a single, lustrous, orange scheelite crystal measuring 1.2 cm across, is perched on top of glassy, colorless quartz crystals, to 1.5 cm in length.
This piece features several, brownish-orange, lustrous, translucent, scheelite crystals, to 1.6 cm across, which have crystallized in and among acicular, glassy, colorless quartz crystals to 2.0 cm in length. Lots of color for the price!
A cluster of orange,lustrous, translucent scheelite crystals, to 1.3 cm across, sit on matrix among colorless, lustrous, gemmy crystals of quartz, to 1.5 cm in length.
From a onetime find in Peru in the early 90s, this is said to be one of the very best specimens (the other being a famous thumbnail in the Ralph Clark Collection). This specimen, from the Peruvian subcollection of Cal and Kerith Graeber, is an attractive miniature overall and features two SHARP, LEMON-YELLOW crystals of 4.5 to 6 mm on edge. The helvites are sharply tetrahedral in form, and they are so sharp and colorful they look fake. It is a supremely good rarity, and a classic form Peru that is almost unobtainable.
A beautiful wreathlike specimen of rose quartz enveloping and jumping off like wings from a core of clear quartz on matrix of albite. This is a beautiful, large rose quartz specimen with excellent color and crystallization, especially for the price. Rose Quartz is NOT as common as people like to think, and good ones are hard to come by. This would have been miend over 20 years ago. They only get harder to come by, with time, now.
An amazing specimen from a very small pocket recently found, that has the best color yet seen in Chinese topaz. The color in fact rivals Pakistani material, finally! This attractive matrix piece boasts crystals to 2.25 x 2 x 2 cm in size, with brilliant lustre and deep champagne color. As the crystals go larger in size, they shed some of the color intensity but get sharper and more gemmy, even (those to come in later updates). This is by far the best lot I have seen yet, although the mine has trickled material out for the last 5 years or so, sporadically.
These brilliantly glassy, lustrous crystals were found early last year in a new find at this old locality. The differ from previous finds in the high lustre and unusually even lavender color, whereas most amethysts from this place show either uniform deeper purple hue or a gradient from purple to clear. This is a pristine, very attractive cluster and was one of the best of the lot
These brilliantly glassy, lustrous crystals were found early last year in a new find at this old locality. The differ from previous finds in the high lustre and unusually even lavender color, whereas most amethysts from this place show either uniform deeper purple hue or a gradient from purple to clear. This is a pristine, very attractive cluster and was one of the best of the lot. It has among the largest crystals of the find, as well. There is a contact on the left side, that is not damage but still an asymmetry that needs to be mentioned (and hence the price about half what i would otherwise feel OK to ask) All Content and Design ©1996-2012 The ArkenstonePowered by http://mineralwebsites.comMineral Specimens by species; or by specimen id. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
share specimen![Quartz ps. Wulfenite from Finch Mine, Gila County, Arizona, USA [db_pics/pics/t06-319a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-319a.jpg)
![Quartz ps. Wulfenite from Finch Mine, Gila County, Arizona, USA [db_pics/pics/t06-319b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-319b.jpg)
![Quartz ps. Wulfenite from Finch Mine, Gila County, Arizona, USA [db_pics/pics/t06-319c.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-319c.jpg)
![Tourmaline (Indicolite) on Quartz from Otjua Mine, Karabib, Namibia [db_pics/pics/t06-320a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-320a.jpg)
![Tourmaline (Indicolite) on Quartz from Otjua Mine, Karabib, Namibia [db_pics/pics/t06-320b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-320b.jpg)
![Tourmaline (Indicolite) on Quartz from Otjua Mine, Karabib, Namibia [db_pics/pics/t06-320c.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-320c.jpg)
![Rhodochrosite with Quartz from Hedgehog Pocket, Main Stope Drift, Sweet Home Mine, Alma, Colorado, USA [db_pics/pics/t06-322a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-322a.jpg)
![Rhodochrosite with Quartz from Hedgehog Pocket, Main Stope Drift, Sweet Home Mine, Alma, Colorado, USA [db_pics/pics/t06-322b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-322b.jpg)
![Rhodochrosite with Quartz from Daye Mine, Hubei Province, China [db_pics/pics/t06-323a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-323a.jpg)
![Rhodochrosite with Quartz from Daye Mine, Hubei Province, China [db_pics/pics/t06-323b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-323b.jpg)
![Scheelite and Quartz from Gharmung Area, Skardu, Pakistan [db_pics/pics/t06-331a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-331a.jpg)
![Tourmaline (Indicolite) on Quartz from Otjua Mine, Karabib, Namibia [db_pics/pics/t06-332a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-332a.jpg)
![Tourmaline (Indicolite) on Quartz from Otjua Mine, Karabib, Namibia [db_pics/pics/t06-332b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-332b.jpg)
![Sphalerite (twinned) on Quartz from Mine 57, 180 meter level, Dzezkazgan, southeast of Karaganda, Kazakhstan [db_pics/pics/t06-334a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-334a.jpg)
![Sphalerite (twinned) on Quartz from Mine 57, 180 meter level, Dzezkazgan, southeast of Karaganda, Kazakhstan [db_pics/pics/t06-334b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-334b.jpg)
![Sphalerite (twinned) on Quartz from Mine 57, 180 meter level, Dzezkazgan, southeast of Karaganda, Kazakhstan [db_pics/pics/t06-334c.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-334c.jpg)
![Scheelite and Quartz from Gharmung Area, Skardu, Pakistan [db_pics/pics/t06-335a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-335a.jpg)
![Scheelite and Quartz from Gharmung Area, Skardu, Pakistan [db_pics/pics/t06-336a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-336a.jpg)
![Scheelite and Quartz from Gharmung Area, Skardu, Pakistan [db_pics/pics/t06-336b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-336b.jpg)
![Scheelite and Quartz from Gharmung Area, Skardu, Pakistan [db_pics/pics/t06-341a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-341a.jpg)
![Scheelite and Quartz from Gharmung Area, Skardu, Pakistan [db_pics/pics/t06-341b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-341b.jpg)
![Helvite, Manganocalcite, Quartz from Pachapaqui, Ancash Dept., Peru [db_pics/pics/t06-345a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-345a.jpg)
![Helvite, Manganocalcite, Quartz from Pachapaqui, Ancash Dept., Peru [db_pics/pics/t06-345b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-345b.jpg)
![Helvite, Manganocalcite, Quartz from Pachapaqui, Ancash Dept., Peru [db_pics/pics/t06-345c.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-345c.jpg)
![Rose Quartz on Quartz from Lavra da Ilha Pegmatite, Taquaral, Itinga, Aracuai, Minas Gerais, Brazil [db_pics/pics/t06-43a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-43a.jpg)
![Rose Quartz on Quartz from Lavra da Ilha Pegmatite, Taquaral, Itinga, Aracuai, Minas Gerais, Brazil [db_pics/pics/t06-43b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-43b.jpg)
![Topaz with Quartz and Albite from Wah Tu Wah Mine, Gao Li Gongshan, Wenshan, Yunnan Province, China [db_pics/pics/t06-46a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-46a.jpg)
![Topaz with Quartz and Albite from Wah Tu Wah Mine, Gao Li Gongshan, Wenshan, Yunnan Province, China [db_pics/pics/t06-46b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-46b.jpg)
![Topaz with Quartz and Albite from Wah Tu Wah Mine, Gao Li Gongshan, Wenshan, Yunnan Province, China [db_pics/pics/t06-46c.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-46c.jpg)
![Topaz with Quartz and Albite from Wah Tu Wah Mine, Gao Li Gongshan, Wenshan, Yunnan Province, China [db_pics/pics/t06-46d.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-46d.jpg)
![Amethyst from Cerro de la Concordia, Piedra Parada, Vera Cruz, Mexico [db_pics/pics/t06-52a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-52a.jpg)
![Amethyst from Cerro de la Concordia, Piedra Parada, Vera Cruz, Mexico [db_pics/pics/t06-53a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/t06-53a.jpg)