THE VAULT Mineral Specimens

HALP-01

Gold

Eagles Nest Mine, Placer Co, California, USA

Miniature, 4.9 x 3.6 x 0.5 cm

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.

VLT09-078

Kunzite With Morganite and Quartz

Kunar Valley, Nuristan Province, Afghanistan

Large Cabinet, 26.0 x 17.0 x 13.0 cm

When I was first offered this specimen via email from a source in Peshawar, who said it had just been hauled in from Afghanistan, I passed on it. I thought it must be a glued-together fake, and a pretty bad fake at that since it was so obvious this could not be real. Unrepaired and a pristine floater complete all around?! HAH! (In fact, I was a little upset my source had the poor judgment to pass on to me such an obvious fake.) I have since been proven wrong, as I found when another foreign source bought the piece and put it in front of me here in the US, trusting I would freak out over it. It is real, it is unrepaired despite its intricate geometry and sheer size (nearly a foot tall!); and it is pristine and undamaged all around as advertised.

SM22-86

Beryl var. Aquamarine with Schorl on Albite

Shigar Valley, Shigar Dist., Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Large Cabinet, 17.0 x 15.5 x 11.0 cm

This is quite simply a gorgeous and impressive large cabinet combination specimen of Aquamarine with Albite and Schorl. The imposing, five inch Aquamarine crystal is water-clear in its upper half, somewhat turbid in its lower half, and has a super glassy luster with good color and a perfect termination, some of the best attributes for a gemstone crystal. It is nested in just the right amount of matrix, and that matrix has large and well-formed, snow-white Albite crystals to 4 cm, and jet-black Schorl Tourmaline crystals to 3 cm for the ultimate polarity in color between them, and fantastic contrast with the stately pale blue Aquamarine that commands attention in the center. There is no damage to the Aqua and only one clean (lock-fit) repair near the base. Taken together, you can see the impact makes this a fantastic piece for the discriminating collector as one of the finer examples in its size and price range. From a remarkable 2020 find.

SM22-166

Tanzanite with Calcite

Merelani Hills, Lelatema Mtns., Simanjiro Dist., Manyara Region, Tanzania

Small Cabinet, 9.3 x 5.9 x 3.7 cm

We often see tanzanite crystals but since they are so rare we almost never see them except in books, we seldom step back and ask, but what about matrix pieces?...I want a matrix piece, when possible. This is a rare example because of several qualities: It is big and unrepaired; on matrix not just of the typical massive rock but of crystalline calcite in particular - which gives color contrast as a bonus; it has natural color (untreated by heat); and happens to be free of damage and very, very aesthetic. The video hopefully helps convey how dramatic this imposing small cabinet sized specimen is, and it is even better in person. Size is large - at 179 grams, it is hefty. We had the good fortune to be there at just the right time when a Tanzanian gem dealer arrived to Munich show a few years ago, and purchased this dirty and uncleaned from the mine. It is, really, a true rarity.

JB16-1714

Rose Quartz on Quartz

Sapucaia Mine, Sapucaia do Norte, Galileia, Doce Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Cabinet, 14.0 x 10.5 x 10.0 cm

This historic specimen is just the stereotypical ideal of a Rose Quartz specimen, to my mind: It has contrast, color, dimensionality, and history to it. This style dates to the old Brazil finds of the 1960's, the same as the Smithsonian's famous Van Allen Belt piece. It has a wreath of Rose Quartz of high color, surrounding a TOTALLY CLEAN AND CRISP, colorless quartz point. Unusually, there is no smoky or gray tones to the quartz. It is 14 cm tall as shown and is a full-on cabinet piece, that displays equally well vertically or sideways. It is 360 degrees and complete all around, though the dimensionality is hard to capture because of all the reflections and the depth of focus here.

JB16-1715B

Tanzanite with Prehnite on Calcite

Block D, Merelani Hills, Arusha Region, Tanzania

Large Cabinet, 18.0 x 15.0 x 11.0 cm

The photos tell the story here, but for a bit of context: Few large matrix tanzanites exist, particularly in this size. The single crystal is 17 cm tall and perched in calcite. It is an astonishing and rare example of tanzanite with unusual pseudocubic crystals of prehnite, just as a bonus to the huge impact of the intense blue tanzanite crystals themselves. No repairs or damage. Truly a "major national museum specimen," for the display impact, if ever there was one. The piece weighs 6.6 pounds.

JB16-1724

Gold

Belshazzar Mine, Quartzburg District, Boise Co., Idaho, USA

Cabinet, 10.0 x 7.2 x 6.0 cm

An important United States gold specimen: Gold from this small mine near Boise was found in this quality only once in a spectacular, small lucky find of around 2005 (with ametal detector on the old dumps). This specimen is one of the largest and finest known from the find, and was in the collection of the discoverer for some time before being sold to amajor collector of historic Americana. It masses 540 grams (17.36 troy ounces), putting it among the largest golds known from unusual USA locales, and among the top few specimens from this location. It is extremely aesthetic in that it is complete all around, 360 degrees, and made up entirely of delicate, filigreed "wires" which are actually gold crystals that get their elongated form from unusual spinel-law twinning. A small bit of quartz matrix is included at the bottom, but this is neglegible to the mass overall. Comes with custom lucite base.

JB16-1722

Scheelite with Aquamarine

Red Pocket (2007), Mt Xuebaoding, Pingwu Co., Mianyang Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China

Small Cabinet, 8.3 x 7.5 x 5.8 cm

This is an intensely colorful gem-tipped scheelite from the famous 2007 "RED POCKET, " with unusual and distinct red tones that are more saturated than the classical orange hue. This pocket had the best luster, overall, and when combined with the color they make for very dramatic specimens that outshine almost all others from other pockets, in a case. It is a balanced small cabinet piece, that has huge impact visually -the color can be seen from across the room! China is the world's best locality for scheelites, unarguably. The scheelites coming from this extremely remote mountain locality are orders of magnitude prettier and better than those from anywhere else. However, the locale is remote, hard to work, and subject to pressure to work with hand tools if at all because it is located next to the major Sichuan Province Wolong.

TUC14-1272

Prehnite

Djouga, Kayes Region, Mali

Cabinet, 15.0 x 11.5 x 7.5 cm

A superb prehnite that is certainly one of the finest examples of this find, and a contender for among the best of species in my opinion. This was purchased from the collection of Rock Currier in a small group of Mali prehnites he let go to me before he passed away. He and a partner controlled nearly all of the high quality production from this prolific locality and cherrypicked it for years. This would be one of the very top specimens, and they are also unique in form and aspect compared to prehnite from other localities. The piece is robust and 3-dimensional. It stands straight up on a custom display base and can be viewed from all sides.

JB16-1719

Wulfenite

Rowley Mine, Maricopa Co., Arizona, USA

Small Cabinet, 8.0 x 5.0 x 4.0 cm

This is a significant wulfenite for this classic US locale, now worked artisanally by a small team of hardworking collectors who had to fight off regulatory agencies of the US government trying to shut their operation down (ironically as a result, the mining is now a research extension of a major university geology department, which has resulted in discovery of a new species!). The Rowley has historically produced a great variety of wulfenite styles and colors, tending more towards small and red crystals. This significant, robust specimen has huge crystals that are not typical for the mine at this size, with unusually thick form and intense orange color without the usual hint of red. Many are "windowpanes" that you can see right through, and they are mostly about 1 cm in size although the big crystal in the middle-left is 2 cm tall! The well-trimmed matrix accents the crystals greatly, with a white periphery of rock. This specimen came from the collection of claim owner Keith Wentz, and would have been collected around 2012-2013.

JB16-1718

Tourmaline var. Indicolite on Quartz

Pederneira Mine, Sao Jose da Safira, Doce valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Large Cabinet, 18.5 x 11.0 x 10.0 cm

From the mid-2000's heyday of mining here, this is an exceptionally elegant combination specimen featuring a 13-cm-long sword of tourmaline intergrown with and shooting out of a sharp quartz crystal. The tourmaline is like a gem pencil, totally clean and transparent with a wonderful blue color. The quartz is complete all around, except for a small conchoidal chip on one edge, and in fact you can display this piece from either side to equal effect - one side showcasing more of the quartz and the other showing more length to the gem tourmaline. A little bit of sparkly purple lepidolite adds accent to one side, as well. Most specimens of this style were rather jumbly, but this has a balance and aesthetic style that make it stand out. Furthermore, most such specimens had multiple repairs while this has only one single, quite acceptable, lock-fit repair to the tourmaline near the bottom.

JB16-1717

Topaz

Betafo District, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar

Cabinet, 12.7 x 10.5 x 6.0 cm

This highly unusual topaz was recovered from a single pocket with two large crystals and a few smaller, in the end of 2014. It is a floater crystal, of intricate shape and complete all-around, 360 degrees. The aesthetics are quite unlike those of topaz from other localities, in general. Importantly, blue topaz is very rare from Madagascar and my first thought was that it might be irradiated to cause the special color. However, the inclusions of iron you can see faintly within prohibit the intense heat treatment process, and I also showed the piece to Dr. Federico Pezzotta (the expert on all gem crystals from Madagascar), who realized this was the one that "got away" in the market there, agreed that it was natural, and then sold me the second large example from this same pocket that I mentioned above.

JB16-1716

Rhodochrosite

N'chwaning II Mine, Northern Cape Province, South Africa

Large Cabinet, 16.5 x 12.0 x 9.0 cm

Rhodochrosite found at these famous Kalahari Manganese Field mines in the late 1970s shocked the mineral world. Such specimens have never been seen again, from anywhere at any time. This would be considered a significant specimen from those days (circa 1979-1981), of the size and impact that only few specimens attained. It presents a dramatic horizon of crystals, all spraying out from dark manganese ore matrix. In person., the piece has a rich and vibrant cherry color that is hard to convey in photos. Some such specimens are too dark or too light, but this is exactly the perfect and best saturation for color impact.

JB16-1715

Beryl var. Emerald

Rist Mine, Hiddenite, Alexander Co., North Carolina, USA

Large Cabinet, 16.0 x 4.5 x 3 cm

The North Carolina emerald mines are an important part of US gem lore, having been visited and worked by the great Tiffany's gemologist Kunz in the early 1900s. Intermittent production continued for 100 years, but pockets of good crystals have been an EXTREME rarity. At 281 grams and with no repairs, this complete-all-around crystal is one of the largest ever found at the location. We believe it to be, in fact, the second largest to the one in the Houston Museum, that was ever recovered (and that one is repaired several times while this is not). This specimen consists of one large, slightly etched, double-terminated crystal, perched on a crosswise smaller crystal at its base. The etching is due to solution effects in the pocket over geologic time, and is common for the locality.

JB16-1712

Amazonite on Albite with Smoky Quartz

Icon Pocket, Smoky Hawk claim, Crystal Peak area, Teller Co., Colorado, USA

Large Cabinet, 34.5 x 20.0 x 16.0 cm

This dramatic, large cabinet piece is to my mind a future "icon" of American minerals. Most people are familiar with the exceptional contemporary combinations of smoky quartz and amazonite being found yearly by the hard-working Dorris family as shown on the Weather Channel TV show, Prospectors. Some of their finds exceed all previous examples of the classic smoky & amazonite combination, such as one that sold recently for near seven figures to the Denver Museum. Nevertheless, these combination pieces are available in one flavor or another, and more have been found yearly. The aptly named "Icon Pocket," shown being collected on TV in the 2015 season of the show, is something else entirely, with unique pieces of large blue amazonite of the ideal color perched dramatically on expanses of white cleavelandite (albite) matrix instead of on the usual nest of rocky matrix of quartz. This particular specimen was the biggest piece of the pocket, and I was stunned when I saw it, about to be presented for sale at the 2016 Tucson show.

JB16-1698

Aquamarine "The Prince of India"

Karur, Tamilnadu, India

Large Cabinet, 18.3 x 7.7 x 6.0 cm

An important Aquamarine from Southern India, found in the late 1990's in a single unique pocket (along with a second, larger but more crude crystal named "The Emperor)." This piece is the sharpest, gemmiest crystal of the pocket, at 1670 grams. The color stands out dramatically from all other Aquamarines and makes these the most important Aquamarine crystals ever found on the continent of Asia.

JB16-1706

Quartz (Scepter)

Treasure Mountain Mine, Little Falls, Herkimer Co., New York, USA

Cabinet, 12.0 x 8.7 x 6.8 cm

Quartz from Herkimer county has a special place in the hearts of many collectors, especially thos eof us who have been there and tried to collect it - it is really difficult! I know many people who only collect quartz from Herkimer or have suites of different styles from here, and among those collectors the rare scepters are highly desired. Usually, a good one would be an inch or so. This monster is 5 inches tall, complete, pristine, and complete all around! It is a major example of the style and location, and was long in two private collections since the day it was collected. It was first seen by the public as one of only about 20 pieces in the American treasures Exhibition at Tucson, 2008, where a photo records its presence among the best of the location that could be gathered for the exhibits that year of the top 40 localities in the USA.

JB16-1617

Benitoite (huge crystal on matrix)

Dallas Gem Mine area, Diablo Range, San Benito Co., California, USA

Miniature, 5.5 x 5.1 x 4.8 cm

This remarkable large benitoite crystal recently came out of a private collection, and is the largest robust crystal of this size and quality together, that I have personally seen. The crystal measure 3.5 cm tall and across, and is 1.7 cm thick. It stands isolated on a natural pedestal of hard rock matrix, and is viewable 360 degrees all around, with equal appeal. A small secondary crystal sits behind it. I know the whole history of the specimen, and it was etched out of its matrix by a friend who is the only previous owner, so I can guarantee that it is natural and not "assembled" despite its too-good-to-be-true look. Overall, because of the incredible size and presentation quality of this deep blue crystal, this is one of the most important USA specimens I have ever handled, and among the most important benitoite specimens around - ever - in my opinion.

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.

DEN14-1407

Wulfenite

San Francisco Mine, Sonora, Mexico

Small Cabinet, 7.0 x 7.0 x 4.5 cm

Wulfenites from this mine are still common on the market, but NOT in quality. This piece is complete all around, with superb, sharp crystals of the highest luster and color. They are large, as well, to 4 cm. From the mid-1970s finds, this is a stunning small cabinet piece that was formerly in the collections of Ed Swoboda and then Eric Asselborn (for some 20-plus years). It was collected by Wayne Thompson and crew, in the mid 1970s. The luster and gemminess of these crystals, in person, is hard to convey in photos.

DEN14-1453

Azurite

Milpillas, Cuitaca, Sonora, Mexico

Small Cabinet, 9.3 x 5.6 x 3.1 cm

Milpillas produced a flood of azurites in the recent heyday there, mostly 2009-2013. However, the flood has tapered, and the styles have changed over the years. This piece is of what I would call a "classic style" from the midrange of production, with large, robust crystals of the brightest azure blue color. This piece has extra luster and extra color beyond the norm. As well, the size of the crystals and the dominant aesthetics make it stand out: The large central crystal is 4.2 cm across. In person, this piece DOMINATES over most Milpillas azurites of any similar crystal habit.

JB17-1740

Euclase

La Marina Mine, Mun. de Pauna, Boyaca Department, Colombia

Miniature, 5.0 x 2.5 x 1.6 cm

A stunning full miniature from the amazing late 2015 finds here, that will become known as one of the finest pockets ever for the species from anywhere in the world. There was a lot of mystery and games going on with the dispersal of this find, done quietly and through multiple dealers. Now that it is all done, I can safely say that this is clearly one of the finest miniatures recovered, and among the finest of the species. It has phenomenal luster and color, and is a complete, doubly-terminated bowtie of crystals. The pics say it all. Joe Budd photos.

JB17-1789

Rhodochrosite on Manganite (circa 1979 find)

Hotazel Mine, Kuruman, Kalahari MN field, Northern Cape Province, South Africa

Small Cabinet, 10.0 x 6.5 x 4.0 cm

Sparkly, Cherry-red rhodochrosites from the oldest finds here in the late 1970's are legendary to this day for their unique color saturation, sparkly luster, and overall impressive appearance. Note they were found before, and are MUCH more rare, than their cousins from the nearby N'Chwaning Mines. They have never been matched by any find of rhodochrosite from anywhere, including from 40 more years of mining in the Kalahari manganese fields. Although many more rhodochrosite specimens came out later, into the early 1980's, they were of different habit. This specimen is from the same pocket as the iconic "Snail" rhodochrosite that has been exhibited so widely over decades, in the Larson collection. It is approximately the same size, and has the same color and luster.

JB17-1563

Rhodochrosite, Tetrahedrite, Fluorite

Tetrahedrite Stope, Sweet Home Mine, Mount Bross, Park Co., Colorado, USA

Large Cabinet, 16.3 x 9.7 x 6.1 cm

The size and coverage of this rhodochrosite make it have huge impact in a case and you can see it from ACROSS THE ROOM. It is not just "red," but it is "cherry red, with luster" way beyond average in each of those important qualities, and with crystals to an inch. Specimens of this size, without damage or repairs, are few and far between on the market - even at the time they came out. This would date to the late 1990s heyday here. Today, each new collector or up and coming collector wants a major rhodochrosite, but generally the only truly fine quality specimens on the market are small. This is a beast, and just dominates a display case.