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ex. Harold Urish
WOW! Intensely colored, gemmy, royal blue, azurite crystals, to 1.35 cm in length are exquisitely nestled in an iron stained, quartz vug. The largest, gemmy quartz crystal is .3 cm in length. Extremely fine!
ex. Harold Urish
This aesthetic and dramatic specimen features two generations of quartz crystal growth. The first generation was comprised of three, milky to colorless, large quartz crystals, to 6.75 cm in length. The second generation consists of gemmy, smoky to citrine colored quartz crystals, to 1.5 cm in length, that have grown like a pincushion over the earlier generation. This is pure and simply, a mesmerizing specimen! We had a Scovil photo taken of this, for use in advertising, which comes included.
ex. Harold Urish
A matrix of beautiful, massive pink rhodochrosite, is the pincushion for a host of gemmy, colorless quartz crystals, to .8 cm in length. On top of the quartz crystals is a coating of off white kutnahorite along with a few crystals of splendent, brassy chalcopyrite, to .75 cm across. Despite its Trepca-like appearance, URI34 is not from Trepca it´s from Cavnic Romania. Atypical piece from there! I am told this by a european collector with firsthand knowledge
ex. Harold Urish
As far as I know, this locality is the only Arizona mine where quartz has pseudomorphed wulfenite crystals. I think Tsumeb did this rarely, but not with such color. These have, therefore, been long considered one of the most memorable of finds for Arizona for the color and uniqueness of the deposit. A silicified limestone is the matrix for these pastel orange-pink crystals, to .75 cm across. In some instances, broken crystals have revealed a core of wulfenite, signifying that not all crystals have been totally pseudomorphed. However, most are near to fully replaced and translucent, and complete . A most unusual occurrence!
ex. Harold Urish
Looking jewel-like in its natural dolomitic vug, is a doubly-terminated, transparent, colorless, quartz crystal, measuring 2.75 cm in length. This specimen dramatically illustrates how crystals can form in the small cavities within rocks. A truly rare matrix example of the famous "Herkimer Diamonds".
ex. George Elling
These remarkable weloganites are best of species, and all came from a few small pockets at this quarry. I think most were collected in the 1970s by Don Doell and friends, of this style. This particular specimen is a choice miniature with a 1.4 cm crystal perched smack dab in the center. These pseudohexagonal crystals have unique form, and look more like a biological growth of coral, than a crystal per se. Still on the specimen is much of the original pocket coating, which is comprised of several other rare species (primarily dresserite), on calcite and small quartz crystals. The little black microcrystals atop may be donnayite but I am not sure. Specimens, particularly with good yellow color, are uncommon and always were...and always will be. According to MINDAT: The quarry has been inactive since 1981 and will never be active again. It is in the central part of the city of Montréal (pop. over 2.5 million), in a residential area, and owned by the City. It is used for snow dumping in winter. Actually, the quarry could be listed by its city address: 3701 rue Jarry Est, Montreal. ( Although not a US classic, it just fit in well with the update and was handy.)
This is a slender 1.1-cm-tall emerald crystal, incredibly gemmy (especially for this locality), glassy, and perched on quartz matrix! I find it the finest emerald on matrix I have seen for here, gram for gram basis, and am so tempted to trim it down to a crazy-sexy thumbnail...but it also looks good as a miniature. A classic. I got this in a collection dating to about 1984 at latest, so it is from old finds here and not modern mining efforts. This is amll perhaps, but it is REALLY choice.
A fairly impressive locality piece, with large chalcopyrites to 2 cm across on quartz matrix. There is some edge wear and peripheral damage to the side chalco's, but this is still a good locality piece. ex. Joe Cilen collection
ex. George Feist
A large, robust, complete-all-around quartz crystal from this classic old locality, from which specimens seldom turn up today (the mine was shut in 1932). It is perfect, save for only the tiniest of edge wear on the tip. ex. George Feist quartz Collection
A MAJOR old specimen with a HUGE, 7-cm-long chalcopyrite crystal on which rests a cluster of quartz, and then another, smaller but sharper, chalcopyrite! this is a classic old locality, from which specimens seldom turn up today (the mine was shut in 1932). This particular specimen is a stunningly large chalcopyrite for any US locality - I cannot think of a larger crystal from other places in the States. It is in great condition considering its size and age, with just a small amount of edge wear to the patina coating. Note it has not been cleaned. A little chemistry, and that black patina would probably come off to reveal a gleaming golden crystal underneath, making it both big and beautiful.
An extremely rich example of pyromorphite from this rare locality, both well covered and with excellent color.
WOW. This incredible dramatic specimen, about 13 inches across, is just amazing to me in that it survived the aeons. I think the aesthetics speak for itself. The small inclusions you see are casued by microlite, taken into the crystals during growth. The piece has one repair about the midpoint, and I actually purchased it in two portions - and we only then found they went together in somewhat of a minor miracle! The two portions had come apart in geologic time, and were separated in the pocket when it was found, not realized to connect. There is a small discontinuity to the smoothness at the join because, over time, aquamarine recrystallized minutely over the break and so each half has a few millimeters of extra growth added after the break. When they were rejoined, we left this slight dip at the join as illustrative of the natural processes which form such impressive large pegmatite specimens, rather than grind down the secondary growth to make a perfectly smooth fit. Elsewhere, the pieces fit together semalessly, and you would not even know it was repaired if I did not tell you. It is a LARGE and very striking piece, geometrically, and I think one of the more impressive beryls to come out of here, for sheer visual appeal.
ex. Dr. Eugene Meieran ex. William Larson
I think one can safely state that this is a MAJOR Himalaya Mine cluster, and aesthetic as well. Few large Himalaya pieces of this magnitude have been recovered, compared to all the mining down there over 100 years from 1900 to 2000, as the pegmatite is enormously disrupted. Today, mining here is possible through a small back entrance but the mine is for all intents and purposes closed for serious work, and all tunnels have been scavenged or collected using ground-penetrating radar before it was given up on. Great Himalaya speicmens carry a premium compared to Brazilian or Afghan tourmalines of similar size and style, because they are an American classic, and significant for what has been found here in the US. This incredible large Himalaya Mine cluster was safely kept in the mine-owner's personal collection for many years until Gene traded it from him, in the mid-90s. Gene then owned it for about a decade until trading it to me, through Wayne Thompson, recently. Pieces this good stay in small circles, usually! It is a complete cluster all around, 3-dimensional and terminated on every crystal. It has two fairly clean repairs to the two larger crystals, near their base in any case where not even the crack is easily seen (the repairs were done by Bill Larson after mining it, and anyways are considered acceptable in a Himalaya cluster of such size). The remaining crystals juxtapose two termination styles and the mind boggles to think how this happened. On one face (lower-left photo) the crystals pointing out that way are terminated with normal basal terminations just like the two big 4-inchers. The smaller crystals with terminations facing to the right-front in what I prefer as the front view (top, with the quartz showing), show unusual slanted terminations that are representative of natural contacting in the pocket as they grew against another mineral. They are not really terminated with a diagonal face, it just looks that way at first glance. Really, each face is a series of microfaces, stepped back in intricate growth - but only on the crystals of the right side of the piece, facing forward. The adjacent crystals, pointing backwards in a front-back-front-back pattern, are as I said normally terminated. The overall effect, as you can see, is very impressive. Comes with custom engraved lucite base, for easy display.
Modern Art in minerals, I call this one... The sparkling brilliantly white Cleavelandite provides a stunning matrix for the gemmy rocket-like tourmalines, and a host of smaller tourmaliens dotting the backside as well. An elongated, gemmy , clear quarts crystal runs along the front horizon, providing a dramatic front view leading the eye up to the tourmalines suggestively. This is a VERY dramatic piece, one of the most enticing I have seen of this style ("rocket pocket") and for under 100k. This piece was mined in 2004, then kept in the collection of mine partners Daniel Trinchillo and Marcus Budil for several years, until obtained by me for a client in 2007. It is now offered back for sale for the first time publicly.
This is , for my taste, a truly unique piece out of all the hundreds I have seen from this mine. It consists of a 17.5 cm-long "sword" of tourmaline shooting out majestically from a "tree" of thick crystals, with lepidolite and albite mixed in for contrast. In person, the shockign stark white blades of Cleavelandite and the sparkly purple lepidolite stand out a lot more, and really contrast with the gemmy green tourmaline. It is hard to photograph and get all colors to come out, without making the lepidolite pale or the Cleavelandite a glaring white color. It, like the piece below, is a specimen that I cherrypicked when I had a unique exchange opportunity with the person who brought out this find a few years ago. I love this piece so much for its aesthetics, that it only ever went to two small shows. I keep it here to look at. The cluster, the whole tree-and-sword combination, is itself growing and rising out of a 13 x 9 cm TERMINATED TOURMALINE CRYSTAL THAT SERVES as the natural base for the piece. It look slike nothing so much as a tree rising from a lake...the green tourmaline base even has what looks like ripples on the water surface. You look at this and your first thought will be, surely this is glued on there and carved this way. Believe me, I was also floored when I saw it, not at first registering that it wasn't glued to a tourmaline slab but that the whole complex cluster grew upon what must probably have been a massive tourmaline crystal. What are the odds this would grow on the crystal's termination, and not along an ugly and exposed side?! And what are the odds, that this termination could be preserved in mining the cluster atop!? I find it higly unlikely, and that is part of why I value the piece so highly. Pieces of this complexity can be preserved as they do occur, rarely; but the problem is, they are fragile. This "Rocket Pocket" as some call it was found in pieces (in 2001 if I recall), and put back together over several years like a jigsaw puzzle. All large specimens have repairs, most more than a dozen. I do not accept so many repairs, except in special cases: where the overall aesthetic impact is significant enough that the piece warrants it; where the price is adjusted accordingly; and when the overall context of the FIND ITSELF requires repairs to obtain an important display-quality specimen (as in this case). This one has only 3 very clean repairs (one with very minor gap-fill epoxy) and a fourth repair on the stalk of the trunk which has a small bit of color-matched epoxy gap-fill. The other three repairs are to the elongated 7.5-inch crystal and are only barely visible to my eyes in the right skewed lighting...they are NOT generally visible and do not detract visually. Miraculously, this whole cluster was held together by the central quartz crystal, which is itself fully terminated and pristine, and extends DOWN THROUGH the tourmaline cap that is a base for the cluster. If not for that central sturdiness, I am sure the specimen would have broken into many pieces and come apart from the underlaying tourmaline cap, as well. Comes with custom engraved lucite base, for easy display. All Content and Design ©1996-2012 The ArkenstonePowered by http://mineralwebsites.comMineral Specimens by species; or by specimen id. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
share specimen![Azurite on Quartz from Socabon Mine, Conception del Oro, Zacatecas, Mexico [db_pics/pics/uri-29a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/uri-29a.jpg)
![Azurite on Quartz from Socabon Mine, Conception del Oro, Zacatecas, Mexico [db_pics/pics/uri-29b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/uri-29b.jpg)
![Quartz from Potosi Mine, Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, Mexico [db_pics/pics/uri-33a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/uri-33a.jpg)
![Quartz from Potosi Mine, Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, Mexico [db_pics/pics/uri-33b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/uri-33b.jpg)
![Quartz from Potosi Mine, Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, Mexico [db_pics/pics/uri-33c.jpg]](db_pics/pics/uri-33c.jpg)
![Kutnahorite and Quartz on Rhodochrosite from Cavnic, Romania (TYPE LOCALITY) [db_pics/pics/uri-34a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/uri-34a.jpg)
![Kutnahorite and Quartz on Rhodochrosite from Cavnic, Romania (TYPE LOCALITY) [db_pics/pics/uri-34b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/uri-34b.jpg)
![Kutnahorite and Quartz on Rhodochrosite from Cavnic, Romania (TYPE LOCALITY) [db_pics/pics/uri-34c.jpg]](db_pics/pics/uri-34c.jpg)
![Quartz pseudomorphing after Wulfenite from Finch Mine, near Winkelman, Gila County, Arizona, USA [db_pics/pics/uri-38a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/uri-38a.jpg)
![Quartz pseudomorphing after Wulfenite from Finch Mine, near Winkelman, Gila County, Arizona, USA [db_pics/pics/uri-38b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/uri-38b.jpg)
![Quartz pseudomorphing after Wulfenite from Finch Mine, near Winkelman, Gila County, Arizona, USA [db_pics/pics/uri-38c.jpg]](db_pics/pics/uri-38c.jpg)
![Weloganite and Quartz from Francon Quarry, St. Michel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada [db_pics/usa1/usa16abg.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa16abg.jpg)
![Weloganite and Quartz from Francon Quarry, St. Michel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada [db_pics/usa1/usa16d.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa16d.jpg)
![Weloganite and Quartz from Francon Quarry, St. Michel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada [db_pics/usa1/usa16e.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa16e.jpg)
![Emerald on Quartz from Hiddenite, North Carolina, USA [db_pics/usa1/usa45abg.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa45abg.jpg)
![Emerald on Quartz from Hiddenite, North Carolina, USA [db_pics/usa1/usa45b.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa45b.jpg)
![Emerald on Quartz from Hiddenite, North Carolina, USA [db_pics/usa1/usa45c.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa45c.jpg)
![Chalcopyrite on Quartz from Ellenville, Ulster County, New York, USA [db_pics/usa1/usa46abg.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa46abg.jpg)
![Chalcopyrite on Quartz from Ellenville, Ulster County, New York, USA [db_pics/usa1/usa46d.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa46d.jpg)
![Chalcopyrite on Quartz from Ellenville, Ulster County, New York, USA [db_pics/usa1/usa46b.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa46b.jpg)
![Chalcopyrite on Quartz from Ellenville, Ulster County, New York, USA [db_pics/usa1/usa46c.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa46c.jpg)
![Quartz from Ellenville Lead Mine, Ellenville, Ulster Co., New York, USA [db_pics/usa1/usa52abg.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa52abg.jpg)
![Quartz from Ellenville Lead Mine, Ellenville, Ulster Co., New York, USA [db_pics/usa1/usa52b.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa52b.jpg)
![Quartz from Ellenville Lead Mine, Ellenville, Ulster Co., New York, USA [db_pics/usa1/usa52c.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa52c.jpg)
![Chalcopyrite with Quartz from Ellenville Lead Mine, Ellenville, Ulster Co., New York, USA [db_pics/usa1/usa63abg.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa63abg.jpg)
![Chalcopyrite with Quartz from Ellenville Lead Mine, Ellenville, Ulster Co., New York, USA [db_pics/usa1/usa63c.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa63c.jpg)
![Chalcopyrite with Quartz from Ellenville Lead Mine, Ellenville, Ulster Co., New York, USA [db_pics/usa1/usa63d.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa63d.jpg)
![Pyromorphite on Quartz from Loudville Lead Mine, Southhampton, Massachusetts, USA [db_pics/usa1/usa84b.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa84b.jpg)
![Pyromorphite on Quartz from Loudville Lead Mine, Southhampton, Massachusetts, USA [db_pics/usa1/usa84abg.jpg]](db_pics/usa1/usa84abg.jpg)
![Tourmaline with Lepidolite and Quartz from Himalaya Mine, San Diego County, California, USA [db_pics/pics/vlt-4a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/vlt-4a.jpg)
![Tourmaline with Lepidolite and Quartz from Himalaya Mine, San Diego County, California, USA [db_pics/pics/vlt-4b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/vlt-4b.jpg)
![Tourmaline with Lepidolite and Quartz from Himalaya Mine, San Diego County, California, USA [db_pics/pics/vlt-4c.jpg]](db_pics/pics/vlt-4c.jpg)
![Tourmaline with Quartz on Cleavelandite from Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil [db_pics/pics/vlt-53a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/vlt-53a.jpg)
![Tourmaline with Quartz on Cleavelandite from Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil [db_pics/pics/vlt-53b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/vlt-53b.jpg)
![Tourmaline with Quartz on Cleavelandite from Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil [db_pics/pics/vlt-53c.jpg]](db_pics/pics/vlt-53c.jpg)
![Tourmaline var. Elbaite with Quartz, Cleavelandite & Lepidolite on Tourmaline from Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil (2001) [db_pics/pics/vlt-8a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/vlt-8a.jpg)
![Tourmaline var. Elbaite with Quartz, Cleavelandite & Lepidolite on Tourmaline from Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil (2001) [db_pics/pics/vlt-8b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/vlt-8b.jpg)
![Tourmaline var. Elbaite with Quartz, Cleavelandite & Lepidolite on Tourmaline from Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil (2001) [db_pics/pics/vlt-8c.jpg]](db_pics/pics/vlt-8c.jpg)
![Tourmaline var. Elbaite with Quartz, Cleavelandite & Lepidolite on Tourmaline from Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil (2001) [db_pics/pics/vlt-8d.jpg]](db_pics/pics/vlt-8d.jpg)
![Tourmaline var. Elbaite with Quartz, Cleavelandite & Lepidolite on Tourmaline from Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil (2001) [db_pics/pics/vlt-8e.jpg]](db_pics/pics/vlt-8e.jpg)
![Tourmaline var. Elbaite with Quartz, Cleavelandite & Lepidolite on Tourmaline from Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil (2001) [db_pics/pics/vlt-8f.jpg]](db_pics/pics/vlt-8f.jpg)