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The Vault
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Recommended by FORBES: COLLECTOR, Nov. 2006
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These pages will consist of many of our best specimens, condensed from both new stock and from elsewhere on the site. Every piece here is something that I believe is truly special beyond its mere price-point, and of a higher "significance" than most similar specimens in the same price and size range. By this, I mean that I am trying to fill these pages with pieces that stand out, even amongst a crowd of comparable (and necessarily expensive) fine mineral specimens; and yet remain a relative value for the money. This makes them a better investment for your collection, if you choose to look at your collection in such terms. As a guarantee of my faith in the contextual accuracy of my descriptions, every single specimen in The Vault is one that I would take back at FULL sale value (at a minimum) in trade for other specimens, should the owner change the focus of their collection down the road. I do this because I believe the baseline value of such special and hard-to-obtain pieces can only go up in time.
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page 1 / 6 - 88 specimens selected - next - bottom - back to the Galleries
VLT09-052 - Euclase - $ 9500 SOLD
Lost Hope Mine, Miami, Karoi District, Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe
miniature, 4.2 x 3.3 x 1.8 cm
ex. Marion Stuart
Euclase from this important old locality came out mostly in the 1960s, and STILL SETS the standard for coloration in the species. Although Colombia has since produced some more important and larger crystals of higher gem value, that are truly wordclass as well, the euclase from this small and defunct mine is so much more intense in color saturation that they may as well be two separate species as far as comparisons go. This gorgeous specimen has consistent color, superb lustre, and a good aesthetic. Most euclase from this mine is more blocky and compacted, if in clusters at all (though usually only singles survive and are around for sale). The specimen here has not only good aesthetics in the way the major crystals present, but it has good edges or horizons, without the usual butchered contacts at the sides where all too many of these were hacked off their matrix when collected. As far as size, this is also a large cluster, of which I have seen few over the years. It came from the well known collection of Marion Stuart, heiress to the Carnation fortune, when her collection was sold by Wayne Thompson (with help fro mformerly retired dealer Dr. Gary Hansen, who had sold Stuart many of the pieces decades before) in 2001, and has been buried in a collection since that time. It would have been, had I seen it first, one of my first picks for its color and rarity!
VLT09-053 - Smoky Quartz with Amazonite - $ 18500
Night Hawk Pocket, Smoky Hawk claim, Crystal Peak area, Teller Co., Colorado
cabinet, 10.2 x 7.9 x 7.6 cm
ex. Richardson Beard
The Smoky Hawk claim has, since about 2006 or so, produced amazonite and smoky quartz combination pieces that rival the famous Tree Root Pocket material of the late 1990s. Some of them, such as this piece, are more aesthetic to my eye because they have not only the super colorful amazonite in fake-looking, intense blue color, combined with smoky quartz: also, the best quartzes are generally gemmier and more translucent than the older Tree Root Pocket pieces. Moreover, on this piece, the quartzes (to 3 inches!) shoot up so starkly and dramatically, that it "makes" the specimen. In many such combination pieces, the smokies are undersized compared to amazonite, or vice versa. Or, the two are often in a more jumbly aggregate that is pretty and of high quality, but not really the kind of stark geometry that I favor. I like specimens best when you have crystals on crystallized matrix, and the two geometries are as different in color and crystallography as you see here. This piece has it all! Like nearly all such larger amazonite combination pieces, old and new finds both, this has a few repairs that would be considered par for the course, so long as they are well done and clean (which they are). This specimen sits nicely in the palm of your hand, spraying three-dimensionally to fill space. I obtained this specimen from the William Ferris collection by exchange, before that collection was sold off in 2007-2008. I owned the specimen for about 15 minutes before it was snapped up...seen in person, it REALLY does leap out at you, compared to most others. Mr. Ferris was the first owner, having acquired it directly from the company of Joe and Tim Dorris, the miners, several years previously. Since that time until now it has been in the Dallas collection of Rick Beard. I regard it , for the size, as one of my favorites of this classic combination in a price range that is expensive, admittedly, but still affordable to many collectors without going for megabuck pieces. NOTE CONTRIBUTED BY THE COLLECTORS, JOE & TIM DORRIS: Thanks for featuring the Night Hawk piece in your vault. My son, Tim, who is an avid fan called my attention to the posting. A bit of information: I found it on 29 June 2006. Only a few other pieces came from the pocket, all smaller and relatively insignificant. All showed the nice translucency which this Night Hawk piece exhibits. You can see from the attached photo, the pocket was quite small, less than a foot across. (so, a far more rare piece from a special pocket, still remembered 3 years later by the folks who dug it).
VLT09-054 - Gold (crystallized nugget) - $ 9200 SOLD
near Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
small cabinet, 7.4 x 4.4 x 2.3 cm
ex. Lawrence Conklin
This hefty gold nugget, weighing in at just over 150 grams (approx 5 troy ounces), is a crystallized nugget of a sort rarely seen in good, aesthetic specimens. It has, as you can see, a "tortured", elongated crystal rope curving up from the main nugget mass. Such pieces are seldom found, and this would be considered a large "rope gold" crystal by any standard. The piece has a beautiful slightly copper or brassy patina, a little darker than normal Aussie nuggets from the more common Victoria locales. It was long in the Ed David Collection until the mid-90s, after which it was in the collection of collector/dealer Lawrence Conklin.
VLT09-055 - Tourmaline with Cleavelandite - $ 24000
Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil
cabinet, 13.0 x 5.6 x 5.4 cm
This impressive specimen features a sharp, doubly-terminated gem crystal from the so-called " Rocket Pocket", 10.8 x 1.4 x 1.2 cm in size, perched delicately on the side of a knoll of crystallized cleavelandite with sparkling purple lepidolite in the interstices. Collected around 2002, this was considered at the time, in the context of having most of the pocket contents laid out on a few giant tables to be sorted, to be one of the best of this style in its size range. It was kept back by one of the partners in the Pederneira Mining venture, and then sold to collector Irv Brown. He selected it, as I would have, because it has very unique aesthetics and, unlike most of these larger crystals which have 2-4 repairs, it has only one VERY clean, lock-fit repair to the tourmaline crystal. I obtained it in exchange from him in about 2006 and have held it since. The Pederneira is shut down for the moment, and in any case the pegmatite which hosted this particular pocket is completely gone and stripped of crystals at this point. While many came out during the brief heyday here, this piece has always inspired me , even though I have bought and sold more expensive examples in the meantime. As a bonus, I admire the contrast between the large crystal with pyramidal termination and the two smaller crystals flanking it, each with a flat-topped termination. The balance of the piece, the accents by the sidecar crystals, the combination of terminations, all make for a specimen that is, overall, superior in its size and price class. This piece has never before been offered publicly before, just changing hands by exchange twice since it was mined. Many specimens can be bought in the 10-20k range that in context really are not the "best of" in any manner for their localities. This piece, though, for just a little bit outside that range where so many more common pederneira pieces can be had, really does uplift itself by its own merit to the next level as both a collectible and an investment thus.
VLT09-057 - Aquamarine - $ 15000
Nagar, Hunza Valley, Gilgit, Northern Areas, Pakistan
cabinet, 12.9 x 10.5 x 10.5 cm
A massive, fat aquamarine crystal serves as the core of this specimen.It is completely crystallized, 360 degrees around, and very 3-dimensional. The crystal is more glassy and more deeply colored than nearly all other Nagar aquamarine s(which have a sad reputation for pale color, though some, like this, transcend). Overall this is the size of a small melon or a large grapefruit, very impactful and massive in presence compared to the more common, slender and elegant style for aquamarines from Pakistan. It is as close to pristine as you can ask for, with just the most minute of dings if you look closely - a miracle, given the size and weight of the piece. They are not always able to be so tender in extracting these from the mountainside and hauling them to market, as we collectors would wish. Large and heavy specimens in particular, are hard to get in this condition. I obtained this after it was mined in 2007, directly from a source in Peshawar. Although Nagar aquas were and still remain commonplace on the market, this is NOT a common Nagar in aspect or quality, and really stands out from the crowd. 2.15 kilos in mass
VLT09-058 - Topaz with Quartz on Albite - SOLD
Dassu, Shigar Valley, Skardu, Northern Areas, Pakistan
cabinet, 11.2 x 10.2 x 9.2 cm
A totally gemmy, transparent, see-through topaz is the highlight of this fantastic combination piece, which has a striking balance of topaz and quartz, both nestled in crystallized cleavelandite. The topaz is 5 cm wide, 4 cm deep, and about 4 cm tall. It is PRISTINE. Not a ding on it and for that matter the rest of the piece is as close to pristine as you can wish, as well. In person, the topa zleaps out at you as a 3-dimensional jewel, transparent and brilliant like glass. You can see right through it to the quartz behind, the cleavelandite underneath, and the faceted terminations set against them. Topaz , on matrix, of this quality comes but rarely despite all the hunting and searching for these valuable gems. Most people consider this region to be the premier locality for champagne-colored topaz crystals of this style, and this piece epitomizes why. I purchased this in 2008 directly from a source in Peshawar, when it was much larger and needed to be heavily trimmed and cleaned. Joe Budd Photo (on graded background)
VLT09-059 - Pyrite - $ 6500 SOLD
Huaron Mine, Cerro de Pasco, Pasco Department, Peru
cabinet, 12.6 x 12.2 x 11.0 cm
ex. Robert Nowakowski
OK, we have all seen any number of pyrites. BUT, I would maintain this huge octohedral crystal is really something special. You do not see such large pyrites in this habit, very often, from any locality. And at 6 pounds in weight, this is a shocking piece to find in pristine condition. It is actually a floater, complete all around (even the bottom). The crystal shows 4 of the 6 ideal octohedral terminations, each modified by a cube at their tips so you have a flat face at the end, bevelled nicely. They are VERY reflective faces, too, extremely bright and sharp. NO DAMAGE, either. The bottom of the piece is complexly crystallized as I said, technically makin gthis a floater, but asymmetric and not well-developed. Still, you see 4 of the 6 octohedral corners and the piece presents 3-dimensionally as a clear octohedron. In person, the natural imperfections on the surface add complexity and make the piece more subtly intricate than its simple geometry might indicate at first, although in the photos some of the natural little outgrowths look like dull spots. Photos do not do it justice, really, as it is big and heavy - and just much more impressive in person. Lastly, I will say i have noticed a serious decline in production quality from this location over the last 2 decades. I do not think even mediocre pyrite crystals in this size are goign to be easilyhad, let alone such pristine and symmetric examples as this.
VLT09-060 - Rhodochrosite with Fluorite,Tetrahedrite, Quartz - $ 42500
Sweet Home Mine, Alma, Park County, Colorado
cabinet, 10 x 8.4 x 4.8 cm
ex. Rob Lavinsky
This is a very appealing rhodochrosite, unusual in its combination with both fluorite and tetrahedrite. The tetrahedrite occurs as sharp , metallic crystals and may actually be overtopping large bornite crystals, it seems. The piece is very nearly pristine with but a few faint marks of wear seen by the educated eye only, and NO restoration or repairs whatsoever. The large central crystal is 5 cm across, and it is draped with fluorite and smaller rhodo crystals. The color I would rate as an 8.5 on a scale of 10 - and I can say honestly that it is what we called good color back when they were being mined - as opposed to what often passes for "acceptable color" on specimens I see at market today. The lustre is high, and the color saturation is uniform. This is an EXCELLENT piece overall, and has a huge amount of color for the price (again, considering what else I have seen on the market these days). The fluorites are sparkling and a nice lavender hue, in person. I purchased this piece for my private collection, of fine large Sweet Home rhodochrosite specimens, in 2006 at the Munich show. I have held it since, and am selling a few of my private collection rhodochrosites now only to finance acquiring a yet larger specimen. Jeff Scovil Photo (on green background).
VLT09-061 - Aquamarine - $ 12500 SOLD
Jaqueto Mine, Bahia, Northeast Region, Brazil
small cabinet, 7.5 x 3.8 x 3.2 cm
This is a natural jewel, a complete 147-gram floater aquamarine crystal from one of the most famous finds for beryl on the planet, really almost a legendary find as everybody wants one but so few specimen-quality pieces survived the cutter wheels. It is a barrel-shaped, classic Jaqueto aquamarine crystal...the best ones are just like this, tapering on the ends and with a big fat gem nodule in the middle. This locality is not in Minas gerais, but further north in Bahia, its own little deposit. This locality has produced some of the purest , most intense natural blue aquamarine for the gem trade in the past - and a few small pocekts of specimens as well. I showed this to a gem dealer friend, who routinely buys such things for cutting, and he told me that if the cut works ideally, there is a $10,000 gemstone in the central portion of this crystal. And, in that analysis, is why you see fewer and fewer of these survive as specimens when the cutting value is so easily obtained as gem rough. It also makes it difficult for dealers like me to buy these in Brazil, from old stashes, because we must compete and pay more than the cutting price to preserve the specimen.
VLT09-062 - Tourmaline on Smoky Quartz - $ 24500
Paprok, Nuristan Province, Afghanistan
large cabinet, 18 x 10 x 8 cm
ex. Dr. Eugene Meieran
This is a rare matrix bubblegum-colored tourmaline, perched dramatically at one end of a shard of lustrous smoky quartz. The tourmaline has JUICY color, a rich pink-red hue classic for this region. It has a nearly perfect termination with only minute edge wear and a glassy, unusually fine lustre to the top that lets you look right down into the depths of the crystal. The crystal itself is about 10 x 6 x 5 cm in size, though it tapers slightly towards the base. It is repaired, from a natural break in situ, at a point just below the junction to the attached smoky quartz and so the seam is really quite unseen from the front of the specimen. It is a good, clean repair job with minor restoration at the natural break, and without a jarring visual effect when displayed , so I consider it acceptable at a price. A specimen like this would normally be in the 6-figure range if perfect and so, admittedly, this is not quite perfect BUT the price is adjusted accordingly - at a good tradeoff to the collector who can now get a matrix bubblegum pink , that doesn't cost "the fortune" it looks like it should. This specimen was obtained from a direct source in-country, via email as it came out of the mine, by collector Gene Meieran (from whom I obtained it, in turn).In person, the tourmaline color and photography is most accurate in the closeup (lower-right) photo. The lustre is best shown in the first photo. When we use good lighting on the tourmaline, the smoky quartz appears more black than it actually is, in person (it is more a normal dark gray color, than black as it appears). 1.2 kilos
VLT09-063 - Stibnite - SOLD
Wuning Mine (Wuling Mine), Qingjiang, Wuning Co., Jiangxi Province, China
large cabinet, 90 x 75 x 70 cm
This massively large, important specimen is one of the few giants removed from the famous Wuling mine by a team working exclusively for specimen recovery, in around 2003. It came to the US in its own shipping crate as a specimen perhaps 6 times the size and mass, from which this core of undamaged, pristine, remarkably aesthetic crystals was obtained. There is nearly zero damage to the specimen, and certainly none to any core crystals. No repairs, no unsightly breaks. It is a miracle that such a thing could come out intact and even at this reduced size after the trimdown, it weighs nearly 200 pounds. While too big for nearly all collectors, it is truly a "museum piece" in more than just words. Under half a dozen pieces of this size and calibre are thought to exist, including one that is actually twice the size, from the same pocket, that has now been donated to the American Museum of Natural History and resides in a place of honor in a front atrium, in its own showcase. People stand next to that piece, taking photos with the natural swords of stibnite cluster, all day long. Even my children notice the consistent line to take photos in front of it, when we visit that museum. This piece is of the same impact and , I think, even finer in overall quality and condition. Although stibnite is now perhaps all too common, this particular pocket and mine will be remembered as one of the major finds of China to date, and from it this piece will stand out. It was, until I obtained it in exchange, in the personal collection of the company that extracted and brought the pocket to the US. I do not often use the words "museum-sized" and "museum-quality" in the same description out of care because high quality does not always equate to large size (most often, it does not!). But in this case, the piece really is mindblowing and would be a prime centerpiece for any museum or major collection.
VLT09-064 - Fluorite on Barite - $ 7500
Berbes Mine, Berbes Mining area, Ribadesella, Asturias, Spain
miniature, 5.5 x 4 x 3 cm
ex. Dr. Steve Smale
This specimen is to me one of the most elegant fluorites I have ever handled. It has so much contrast: of the sharp cubic form so unlikely to be perched atop curving barites; of the stunning purple color set against a chalky white pedestal; and of the clarity and gemminess contrasted to the opaque barites on which this crystal sits. The piece is a very large miniature at 5.5 cm, but if you tilted it back slightly for display it would meet "competition miniature" sizing. Properly perhaps, it is a small, small cabinet piece. The crystal is 2.2 cm by 2 cm on front, and extends at most 2 cm deep to the rear. The back face is contcted , but the fluorite and barite are pristine on the display face, the three other sides. The specimen was perhaps for 2 decades in the miniatures collection of ultra-picky collector (i mean that as a compliment), Steve Smale, known for his finicky taste for pure perfection when at all possible. He exchanged it long ago to another local collector in the Bay Area, Steve Smith, from whom I have recently obtained it. I LOVE the rock. I think the one sharp picture (Joe Budd photo) says it all. This piece is simple but complex at the same time, full of subtlety, and leaps out to me. It is, admittedly, probably the most expensive Berbes miniature on the planet, but then I paid a lot to pry it out of the collection it was in, and I really do value it so highly in my estimation of its quality and visual impact.
VLT09-067 - Ludlamite - $ 32500 SOLD
San Antonio Mine, Santa Eulalia District, Chihuahua, Mexico
miniature, 5.2 x 4.1 x 4 cm
ex. Dr. Steve Smale
This famous piece was long held in the Steve Smale Collection, and was photographed many times. It appears in the Encyclopedia of Minerals, and has long been considered by most collectors I have talked to about it to be the epitome of the Mexican ludlamite find from the early 1980s. It has shockingly deep color saturation, which is not just an exaggerated color in the photo. It really IS somewhat more intense in color hue, and in lustre, than nearly all other ludlamites I have seen from this find over the years. All are in major collections, and few come up for sale. Along with a very few specimens from Bolivia, of different crystal morphology in any case, these are the world's best of species to many collectors. And yet, there are so few Mexican ludlamites of high quality that actually came out, and almost none available to the market (in contrast to the more recent Bolivian material). For the material, this would also be considered a very large crystal clustre, aside from its color and lustre qualities. The pedigree is a bonus, the publication a bonus, and I feel the piece is really valued and priced for its intrinsic beauty and quality compared to what else is out there. I believe this to be one of the top specimens of the species to which a collector could aspire to own, hands down. Joe Budd photo
VLT09-068 - Red Beryl - SOLD
Harris Claim, Wah Wah Mountans, Utah
small cabinet, 6 x 2.7 x 2.6 cm
ex. John Barlow
This is THE RED BERYL SPECIMEN TO OWN, if money is no object and other treasures are too common. It is not cheap by any means, in fact it is an insane price. But, it is considered by many to be one of the finest and most unique American mineral specimens in existence, and the changes of ownership have required that it comes with a price to match. It was mined and sold directly to prominent collector F John Barlow in the early 1990s (and is listed in his book, page 357, as the world's foremost example of the species). He had a core suite of 14 remarkable specimens of which this was the most important, and spent a fortune keeping on top of the finds here to have the best assemblage possible from this unique site. The locality is currently defunct but until recently was attracting the attention of gemstone giants like Tiffany's for its novel mineral. This particular piece is featured prominently in many media, including the F John Barlow Collection Book, Lapis special issues on beryls, and probably any other work that references red beryl. Although it "disappeared" briefly and could not make the American Mineral Treasures exhibition in Tucson in 2008, it well should have been in that compendium case. However, the photo was still chosen as the lead specimen for the Red Beryl chapter of the companion book to that monumental exhibition, and is shown full-page on page 217 of American Mineral Treasures. I now have it in my own hands, and am proud to offer this world class specimen that i view as one of the top 10 US mineral specimens in existence. I feel truly privileged to be able to offer this for sale. It is a literal Van Gogh in our mineral world. I am biased perhaps as I LOVE this rock. i have always loved this rock...it's a freaking 2 inch red emerald on matrix after all! Joe Budd photo on the graded background
VLT09-069 - Topaz (var. imperial) - $ 9000
Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Southeast Region, Brazil
miniature, 4.6 x 2 x 1.3 cm
ex. Richard Kosnar
ex. Wally Mann
This is a superb example of classic topaz from the Ouro Preto region, referred to in the gem trade as "imperial topaz" for its orange color and brilliant lustre. The specimen is a complete crystal with great brightness and intensity, truly fine by any standard...AND it is ALSO doubly-terminated. Note the stark difference, too, in the termination styles! You dont see that very often! In fact, I've never had a good DT topaz from here above thumbnail size, myself. There are larger examples, but they reside primarily in the mine owner's company collection, sometimes showed on exhibit. This piece is of an older style aside from the dating via the label with it, and came out, thus, before the current near-monopoly on the region's imperial topaz production by the current owner. It was obtained in Brazil by collector/dealer Richard Kosnar on a trip in the 1970s, and is numbered #37 on a very old collection label that is preserved with the specimen (easily dated as it has his first wife's name on it). From Kosnar, it went to the well-known collection of former Dallas native Rick Rolater, who sold his collection (primarily to other local collectors in a famous free-for-all at his home) when founding the Discovery Stores in the 1980s. Wally Mann, also of Dallas, has owned it since.
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Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com
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