• Learn
    • About Us
    • Meet the Staff
    • Events
    • The Wisdom Pocket Blog
    • Video Resources
    • Collection Consulting
    • Mineral Photography
    • Publications
    • Recommended Resources
    • Dallas Symposium
  • Shop
    • Browse
    • Search Minerals
    • New Galleries
    • Themed Galleries
    • The Vault
    • Lucite Bases
    • Order Mineral Specimens
    • SALE
  • SALE
  • Auctions
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Advanced Search
Advanced Search
Login

THE VAULT

This is a special section of the website dedicated to very significant, admittedly pricier, specimens in context. Many of these minerals find homes with collectors who not only enjoy the beauty of fine minerals, but also treat their collections as valuable alternative investments.

  • « Prev
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Next »
1-24 of 84 Items
VAULT21-01
Emerald With Calcite
Coscuez Mine, Boyaca Dept., Colombia
Small Cabinet
5.5 x 4.6 x 4.1 cm
Request Price
(1 more images)
An exquisite emerald specimen, simply "different" to my eye than so many others. It has a very castellated, complex multiple termination that to me looks like towers out of a fantasy movie made of gemmy green emerald. The color is a vivid, bright hue. Some collectors prefer darker colors, some lighter shades, and this is somewhere in between; and very vibrant for it. You can see the piece shimmering from across the room, as it also has sparkly luster on both the calcite and the emerald associations. The piece is beautifully trimmed, to accentuate the 3-dimensionality of the emerald and of the adjacent twinned calcite, atop.
Learn More
TUC115-294
Azurite and Malachite
Milpillas Mine, Cuitaca, Mun. de Cananea, Sonora, Mexico
Cabinet
11.7 x 7.0 x 6.0 cm
Request Price
(3 more images)
Milpillas, to me, is the wonder-locality of the first part of this century. It is now producing, briefly, azurite of such a quality as to rival and surpass Tsumeb. Nothing like these has been seen in decades, and even then, Milpillas has a style and intense blue color in its large crystals that makes it stand out. With the mine scheduled to burn through the oxide zone in which these occur within the next year, I also believe that a great Milpillas azurite is a good investment now. The world just doesn't make azurites like this, often, from anywhere. This bonanza will not last...
Learn More
D06-243
Emerald - Huge 2-Inch, Complete Crystal
Muzo Mine, Boyaca Dept., Colombia
Miniature
5.0 x 3.0 x 2.5 cm
Request Price
(4 more images)
MORE GEMMY in person, please note! This large crystal weighs in at over 300 carats and is complete all around, terminated and with GLASSY luster on ALL faces. The color is intense! very FEW Colombian emeralds reach sizes of this magnitude, and of those a vanishingly small percentage survive "geology" itself in the form of crystals we would want as collectors after millions of years in the ground. Then, they have to survive mining, extraction, and those ruthless jewelers and faceters who break up lovely crystals for a sliver of rough inside. Can you imagine the value on the lapidary market, particularly in Asia and in the auction houses, of a huge emerald bird or buddha carved from this thing?!
Learn More
TANZ01
Tanzanite cluster
Merelani Mines, Arusha, Tanzania
Cabinet
10.5 x 3.5 x 2.0 cm
Request Price
(7 more images)
Most tanzanite crystals, for whatever reasons of science and geology, form as "singles." A double, especially a cluster as balanced and symmetric as this, is extraordinarily rare in the mineral world. This piece is complete all around, 360 degrees. It is not the most gemmy, although it is translucent, but it has intense color and sharp geometry that draws the eye. As you can see in the photos, it exhibits the traditional famous dichroism of color for tanzanite, blue and purple at alternating 90 degree turns. However, the colors actually merge a little bit here, and you see purple highlights on what would normally be the blue side, and vice versa. Tanzanite crystals are often heated at the source to see if they go to a more uniform and deep blue color for the gem trade.
Learn More
VLT-27
Kunzite
Pech, Kunar Province, Afghanistan
Large Cabinet
54.0 x 12.0 x 8.6 cm (appro x 0.2 feet)
Request Price
(6 more images)
weight: 29.4 pounds. Perhaps one of the world's largest crystals for the species! It is complete all around, and with remarkably little etching effects given the size of the crystal. It is nearly entirely gemmy, especially in the center. The tip just glows with purple and maroon hues, with any kind of good lighting, especially when light comes down the c-axis. For the remarkably equant and sharp termination, this would be major anyhow for the species, even if it were small (most have etched terminations as the sizes get longer, not as attractive to my eye).
Learn More
HALP-23
Rhodochrosite on Manganite
N'Chwaning I Mine, Kuruman, Kalahari manganese fields, Northern Cape Province, South Africa
Small Cabinet
7.5 x 6.1 x 2.9 cm
$35,000.00
(6 more images)
From the late 1970s, this is a very rare and desirable style of rhodochrosite we called "shields" in habit, that have never been found again since. The crystals feature a "flattish habit with a dominant pinacoid" according to the article in the 1978 issue of Mineralogical Record when the discovery was reported. This is a large, dramatic piece, free of damage except only on one peripheral crystal contact. It displays upright and very 3-dimensional; and glows a pure cherry red when backlit with light. It is featured in a small print-run book on the Halpern Collection called "The Reds and the Golds," 2010. Jack obtained it in 1984 from a well-known dealership that took Dr.
Learn More
JB16-1720
Apatite
Panasquiera Mine, Barroca Grande, Covilha, Castelo Branco District, Portugal
Small Cabinet
7.8 x 7.1 x 3.6 cm
$7,500.00
A significant apatite from the most important European locale: Apatite from the Panasqueira Mine is justly famous as among the best examples of the species. Crystals like this one, showing the phantom inside a green core and the textbook shape of the crystal, have long been considered among the top European classics. This crystal is HUGE for the locality, and for this style, with a mass of 286 grams. It is largely complete all around. It is complete on the sides and back of the termination, with only small contact on the rear-left edge and at the bottom where it grew. It has muscovite coating a part of the bottom backside, and was almost a floater.
Learn More
JB16-1574
Brazilianite
Conselheiro Pena, Doce Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Small Cabinet
8.0 x 6.3 x 4.0 cm
$13,500.00
(2 more images)
Brazilianite from the old 1930s-1940s finds here STILL sets the standard, to this day, nearly 80 years later. These brazilianites have a depth of color, a high luster, and a unique crystal habit that completely differentiates them from more modern material found in other localities in Brazil. This is a huge crystal for the old finds, featuring a 6 x 5 x 4 cm crystal perched atop a smaller one. It displays very dramatically as a vertical piece, with the gemmiest tip facing out to the viewer and the natural contact (bottom of the crystal, where it grew on matrix) pointing to the back; and thus is complete on three sides. It can also display well horizontally, with the gemmiest tip facing up and the growth contact on bottom. Minor muscovite is included in one side of the crystal.
Learn More
JB17-1887
Pentagonite on Stilbite
Wagholi Quarries, Wagholi, Pune District, Maharashtra, India
Small Cabinet
8.0 x 6.8 x 5.0 cm
$20,000.00
(1 more images)
Pentagonite is the much more rare cousin of cavansite, technically a "dimorph" which means that it is the same chemistry but a different crystal habit, and therefore a different species. The color is equally good, but the sparkly luster on pentagonites at their best is better than most cavansite. The species is found at a ratio of about 1 pentagonite to 1000 cavansites at these rich quarries in India and simply nowhere else in good showy form. Usually, pentagonite of 1-2 cm is considered quite good, and some 2-4 cm floater clusters were found in the past. This specimen features a "tree" of crystals standing 6 cm tall on contrasting white matrix! I have never seen a cluster of the species of this size, so perfectly displayed, intact and undamaged.
Learn More
JB17-1899
Azurite with Malachite
Milpillas Mine, Sonora, Mexico
Small Cabinet
9.2 x 6.0 x 4.8 cm
Request Price
(3 more images)
Milpilas flowed azurite, and then flowed some more when we thought the oxidation zone would not give up more (watercourse pocket going down into the oxidized orebody), and then finally came to a crashing end for supply of the worl'ds best and most prolific azurite finds in all of history. Nevertheless, amongst the crowd of azurites so good that everybody can now own a great azurite in any price range, there are special things that stand out. This is such a piece: I stashed this piece in 2012, from a special 2011 or 2012 pocket I loved with these robust, 3-dimensional crystals that looked more like Tsumeb azurites (but more blue), than the typical Milpillas styles to date. The crystal is 6.0 x 3.0 x 2.5 cm and stands proud and dramatically upon a white matrix with a little wreathe of smaller, slender crystals at its base, like a birds nest. The crystal is undamaged and pristine, and has fantastic color. It shows some partial alteration to malachite, particularly on 2 faces.
Learn More
GOLD21-01
Gold on Quartz
Olinghouse District, Washoe Co., Nevada, USA
Cabinet
11.2 x 9.5 x 3.0 cm
$24,500.00
(2 more images)
From old finds of the 1990s that really surprised the mineral world, these gorgeous elongated gold crystals perched on quartz plates have not been seen in ages. This is an old specimen that I handled in the late 1990s, and came back to me. It is one I always remembered for the simple elegance, as many of these have "nests" of small wires and crystals upon them but this has a cleaner, more nuanced aesthetic with isolated gold wires, and a single elongated crystal of 3.25 cm. It looks fragile, but it is sturdier than it looks. A USA classic, and of good size and large impact. Originally obtained from a large lot sold by miners to Scott Kleine back at that time, and trimmed radically from a large block of matrix.
Learn More
GOLD21-02
Gold
Pontes e Lacerda, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Small Cabinet
6.6 x 2.5 x 1.7 cm
$40,000.00
(3 more images)
A spectacular tree-like, thick and robust crystallized gold from this important modern-era find from a few years ago. The first golds were actually imported as lapidary and gem material, and now it is not possible to export specimens, or to mine new ones as the zone is under control of a large gold mining corporation. This will be remembered as one of the major crystallized gold finds of a century, and the color and shape make them dramatic. Hefty, weighing in at 57 grams.
Learn More
JB17-1741
Fluorite and Rhodochrosite
Four Ball Pocket, Sweet Home Mine, Mount Bross, Park Co., Colorado, USA
Cabinet
15.0 x 10.0 x 4.8 cm
Request Price
(1 more images)
The number of Colorado rhodochrosite specimens combined with fine fluorite of any quality can probably be counted on two hands. The number of cabinet sized examples, is probably half a dozen in all time. This large, fine, gorgeous plate has no repair or restoration unlike many others. It shows off a number of complex purple fluorite cubes exceeding 1 cm, perched against strawberry-red rhodochrosite rhombs for amazing contrast. The specimen came out in the late 1990s and has been off-market and in a private collection since. Such pieces are literally unobtainable today.
Learn More
JB17-1910
Dioptase
Christoph Mine, Kaokoveld Plateau, Kunene Region, Namibia
Small Cabinet
6.0 x 3.5 x 3.0 cm
$35,000.00
Even after all the other historical localities (Tsumeb, Russia, etc.), there is still something about these elongated dioptase crystals from modern finds in Northern Namibia by Charlie Key (keyite, ludlockite, and the Indiana Jones of mineral collecting in Southern Africa) and his mining team that blows me away - and this is among the largest crystals found, with a superb, pristine, nearly 4 cm crystal standing straight up on well-trimmed matrix. It is COMPLETE ALL AROUND, with a full 360 termination! After years of prospecting, they mined these in the years around 2005-2010, though lost control over the claim shortly after. This specimen, one kept back in his personal collection, is simply off the charts, unexpected, and too big to exist in such pristine quality combined with aesthetics. It should not exist. I was literally stunned to see it.
Learn More
JB17-1994
Tourmaline (bicolor gem)
Cruzeiro Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Gems and Jewelry
25 x 17 x 13 mm; 39.03 cts
$22,500.00
Cruzeiro has produced what surely are the most saturated, fanciest color bicolor tourmaline gems, over the years. This is from an old collection, and was mined and cut in the 1990's. It is a superbly cut modified cushion with an art cut on the bottom. The cutting is high quality, and the luster is absolutely top tier. From the collection of former Pro football player, gem collector, entrepreneur, and mineral collector, Ron Gladnick. Joe Budd photos.
Learn More
JB17-1961
Scheelite with Cassiterite
Mt Xuebaoding, Pingwu, Pingwu Co., Sichuan Province, China
Cabinet
11.0 x 11.0 x 8.0 cm
Request Price
Scheelite from this now-diminished mine near the famous Panda Preserve in China simply is, beyond any question, the gold standard for the species. I have followed these for 20 years, since the mid-1990s, and they got better for awhile and then tapered off suddenly after the big earthquake of 2008. The mine is remote, and dynamite is not allowed. Just accessing the mine site is enormously difficult, and at high altitude with no good roads, even before the quake... Now, it is nearly unreachable. Once a tungsten mine under military economic priorities, it has lost importance and now it is worked artisanally, and with increasing difficulty.
Learn More
DEN14-1440
Stellerite
Ahmadnagar District (Ahmednagar District; Ahmed Nagar District), Maharashtra, India
Large Cabinet
17.3 x 15.5 x 10.0 cm
$17,500.00
(2 more images)
Stellerite is not, I admit, normally a species I go crazy for. However, this is almost certainly the best one or among the best few examples of this species, and it is extremely pretty. It looks like a turtle shell made of white opal, for lack of a better way to describe it. The surface has a crazy, wet luster to it and a smooth look that is just odd, somehow (in a good way!). The eye finds it hard to focus on a spot, as the crystals curve so visibly in a hemisphere. Subtle details of the interlocking crystal faces are mesmerizing on close inspection.
Learn More
DEN13-1089
Opal
Ethiopia
Miniature
4.1 x 2.2 x 1.7 cm
Request Price
(2 more images)
This fine Ethiopian opal measures in at 88 carats, a lucky number in the Chinese culture. It is very difficult to find clean rough in this size from the Ethiopian deposits, and this stone would be expensive simply for its quality and size in any case. The lucky number target on carat weight was decided on by the cutter when he realized it would end up around 90 carats anyhow. Opals are notoriously hard to photograph, and keep in mind that in person, the piece would show a further chatoyance and depth that is hard to capture with the camera lens. Joe Budd Photos.
Learn More
TUC14-1243
Fluorite
La Viesca Mine, Huergo, La Collada mining area, Siero, Asturias, Spain
Large Cabinet
35.0 x 29.0 x 26.0 cm
Request Price
(2 more images)
The photos tell the tale for this HUGE specimen of blue fluorite from the classic Spanish locale! The piece has crystals measuring to 14 and 21 cm on edge. It is nearly complete all around, with just a few peripheral contacts. All major crystals are complete. For what this is, in the condition it is in, it is simply astonishing that it has survived. I have not seen a comparable example in this size and condition.
Learn More
DEN13-960A
Tourmaline Var. Liddicoatite
Camp Robin, Fianarantsoa, Madagascar
Large Cabinet
21.0 x 7.0 x 7.0 cm
Request Price
(8 more images)
Liddicoatites from this locality represent the classic style for complexly patterned slices, showing the amazingly subtle gradations of color banding that occurs in these chemically-rich tourmalines as one moves up and down their length. This particular crystal is said to be the largest crystal of such quality that has been cut from the modern finds (since mining began again here in the 1990s), according to the man who mined it and in whose collection it resided for about a decade (Dr. Federico Pezzotta). It is expertly cut, with each piece polished superbly to a perfect polish and luster. The patterns and colors of the interior change even from slice to slice, in a graded pattern that could never be guessed at from outside! This piece was found in 2001 and long remained in the personal collection of Madagascan government's geological exploration consultant and collector, Dr.
Learn More
J12-496
Tourmaline on Quartz With Cleavelandite
Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Large Cabinet
25.3 x 20.3 x 8.5 cm
Request Price
(2 more images)
This mine produced largely during a short run in the early 2000s, some of the best large tourmaline specimens we have seen in recent years. A spectacular large, upright, gem tourmaline crystal is the highlight of this piece. It is carefully centered on a well-trimmed shard of crystallized quartz, from which it shoots up dramatically. Small, sparkly, sugar-white crystals of cleavelandite are in association, for accents. As with all such pieces from this mine, or similarly gracile tourmalines from any locale, there are a few repairs. In context, however, the repairs are both minimal and acceptable given the size of the piece.
Learn More
SOLD
MUN13-1145
Rhodochrosite With Manganite
N'Chwaning I Mine, Kuruman, Northern Cape Province, South Africa
Miniature
4.9 x 4.3 x 3.4 cm
(2 more images)
These treasured red jewels from the late 1970s and early 1980s finds here only turn up in old collections. This is a very balanced, 3-dimensional miniature with superb aesthetics and the best rich, cherry-red color. Unlike most of them which are rather damaged (due to the time they were collected, generally in haste), this has only one small tip missing. Small hematite crystals provide accent. It is, to those who know what they are looking at, just a very sophisticated example of one of the pre-eminent pockets of minerals in modern times. Joe Budd photos.
Learn More
SOLD
HALP-01
Gold
Eagles Nest Mine, Placer Co, California, USA
Miniature
4.9 x 3.6 x 0.5 cm
(3 more images)
An exquisite gold of classic form from Eagle's Nest, but on second look you will see that it has a much more robust crystallization than usual, and the absolutely top luster possible from here. The crystals are thick and show space between the branches, whereas this material is often much more densely packed and netted in appearance. Only maybe 1 in 1000 of the prolific Eagles Nest golds has such luster. It spreads nicely, balanced in the middle, and I always thought of this as an "Eagle" in shape, a nice coincidence with the locality name! Complete on both sides. Although the mine produces several different styles of crystallized gold, and has given us some giant and amazing large pieces, I do not think we could get a finer Eagle's Nest in the full miniature size, of this particular style.
Learn More
SOLD
JB16-1640
Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Anjanabonoina pegmatites, Ambohimanambola Commune, Betafo District, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
Cabinet
9.0 x 8.0 x 7.3 cm
The photos say it all: Liddicoatite from Madagascar is well known for the magnificent complex multicolored growth patterns, but this is the most spectacular matrix example I have seen of this style. The piece is complete 360 degrees, and perfect (with a few repairs). The matrix is a gorgeous pearlescent lavender colored muscovite, that is hard to convey in photos. It is an exquisite specimen from old mining here, long in the noted gem crystals collection of Dr. Steve Smale. Joe Budd photo.
Learn More
  • « Prev
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Next »
1-24 of 84 Items
Stay Connected
Arkenstone Fine Minerals
               
Follow @arkenstone_minerals
iRocks Minerals
               
Follow @irocks_minerals
Mineralauctions.com
               
Follow @mineralauctions
The Wisdom Pocket Blog

Apr 23, 2022

Rare Earth: Santa Barbara

Far more than a dazzling display of gems and minerals, Rare Earth tells the story of how we can value the natural world in a new light.  Copper may be worth a few dollars per pound, but a beautiful piece in its (remarkable) natural form is worth far more than that.  The question is why? We humans inherently assign value to beautiful things above and beyond their utility. It’s why we value impressive minerals like these higher than their price as a mere commodity. Whether it’s a mineral, a tree, or an ecosystem, viewing nature purely in terms of “price per pound” undervalues the resource and deep down, we know it. The minerals and crystals you see here are treasures in their own right, worthy of being displayed (and valued) like any other fine art.

Read More

Mar 28, 2022

Rare Earth: The Art and Science of Chinese Stones

Collecting rocks and stone carvings has been popular in China for thousands of years. This tradition is rooted in the philosophical and spiritual inspiration drawn from the artistic beauty of natural stones, such as jade. Unusually-shaped stones called “Scholars rocks” or “Philosopher’s Stones” carved by natural processes have also been long valued in China. Seen as embodiments of the dynamic transformational processes of nature, these stones were also admired for their resemblance to mountains or caves, particularly the magical peaks and subterranean paradises believed to be inhabited by immortal beings.

Read More

Jan 24, 2022

Legal Nuggets: Fragile Minerals and the TSA

We have all come across a superb specimen, attractively priced, but have nonetheless refrained because there was no easy way to get it home damage-free. What if, however, you do decide to take that specimen home with you on a plane? And what if you carefully wrap it and loosely seal it in a box, with the intent of treating it as carry-on luggage? Of course, from the moment you embark on this course, your mind is dwelling on one thought, and one thought alone—those folks you will encounter at the airport with the badges and patches that say “Transportation Security Administration” or “TSA.”

Read More

Jan 9, 2022

New Year, New Website Update!

We are excited to start off 2022 with the launch of our new and improved website experience, with many changes to freshen up the overall experience for our customers! While at its core, the website remains mostly the same, we’ve reorganized by condensing menus to make navigation easier as well as adding a few new and exciting features to make our website more user friendly for exploring our thousands of listings.

Read More

Jan 8, 2022

Getting to know the mind behind The Arkenstone - Dr. Rob Lavinsky

There are numerous illustrations of the 17th-century phrase, “One good turn deserves another.” By most accounts, it appears Dr. Rob Lavinsky’s life is one such example. The “one good turn” that inspired Lavinsky, owner and founder of The Arkenstone Gallery of Fine Minerals, to take the path he has and mindfully do countless “good turns” in response, took place in Ohio during the mid-1980s. “I was introduced to minerals at the age of 12 through the Columbus, Ohio, Rock & Mineral Society (www.columbusrockandmineralsociety.org/), and was fortunate to have many generous mentors there,” said Lavinsky.

Read More

Jun 16, 2021

The Bement Collection of Minerals

The Bement Collection of Minerals is one of just celebrity, and in the quality of its contents, the average beauty, in some cases, the unique perfection of its specimens, secures a deserved eminence. It is a collection naturally, which abounds in very beautiful and very rare and scientifically precious mineral examples. It represents the sifted and compressed results of a lifetime of collecting, in which the widest latitude of liberal appraisement of specimens has been met on the part of Mr. Bement by as boundless a generosity. There can be no question as to its importance— Gratacap (1912)

Read More

Apr 7, 2020

Little Wonders: Connoisseur Thumbnails in the Contemporary Collector Market

Written by Dr. Jim Houran, Jim Bleess, and Dr. Alex Schauss. Adapted with permission for publication on iRocks.com Selection of Thumbnail mineral specimens at the 2013 exhibit of China Crystalline Treasures, highlighting specimens from Dr.

Read More

Feb 11, 2020

The Jack Halpern Collection

We're honored to have been entrusted with the deaccession of a selection of Jack Halpern's famed collection of fine minerals, some of which we brought to market this 2020 Tucson Show, and others will be appearing online. Friend and mineral collector Lauren Megaw shared some thoughts, history, and personal interactions from her interview with Jack, below. Foreward By Dr. Robert Lavinsky Growing up, I knew Jack was a force of the growing trend of aesthetic collecting and I respected him from a distance but did not know him well until I started visiting his home around the late 1990’s.

Read More

Jan 27, 2020

F. John Barlow Collection: A Modern Mineral Connoisseur

Within the mineral collecting world, there are collectors who have left their indelible mark upon the community. John Barlow was one of those collectors. This article does not aim to give you a chronological take on his life here. Others have done that.

Read More

Jul 5, 2019

Rare Chalcopyrite Balls from Daye, China

Chalcopyrite Balls Tonglushan Copper Mine, near Daye, Hubei Province, China found Jan 2019 through April 2019   View this post on Instagram   Prepping a whole batch of these bad boys to go live on iRocks.com for sale soon... going to be sad to see them go! . Chalcopyrite from Daye, China - send us a DM for an analysis on how these stunning oddballs formed!

Read More
Don't miss out on your next treasure.

Join our mailing list to get the best updates from across the entire family of Arkenstone sites!

LEARN
  • About Us
  • Meet the Staff
  • Events
  • Wisdom Pocket Blog
  • Collection Consulting
  • Dallas Symposium
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
SHOP
  • Browse
  • New Galleries
  • Themed Galleries
  • The Vault
  • Custom Bases
  • Cases
  • Ordering Information
  • SALE
CONTACT US
  • PO Box 830460
    Richardson, TX - 75083
  • (972) 437-2492
  • info@iRocks.com
AGTA
COPYRIGHT NOTICE - Please note that any images, photos, or text (unless otherwise stated) are property of The Arkenstone, iRocks.com, and cannot be used without our permission. Having said that, we're quite happy to work with media, educators, and other organizations to provide images. Please e-mail us at info@iRocks.com with a link where you found the image you wish to use and your intended purpose for the image.