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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

An incredible large specimen weighing about 9 pounds with intense sea foam BLUE color. This is the classic color of really old Brazilian aquas, recovered in the 1920s-1950s primarily. Many of them were cut for gems and lapidary carving. Much of the best work was done in Idar-Oberstein. It is a miracle that this huge crystal, with lots of gem rough and carving value, survived! It was locked in a storage box by two previous owners, each for 20 years or more.

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.

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.

I think the photos speak for themselves, although this is even better in person. It is an intensely colorful specimen with hot yellow cubes as sharp as you could dream of, and highlighted by purple phantoms around their edges. It looks like cubic mushrooms shooting up - it is very 3-dimensional. The piece is large, as well; a full cabinet size and then some. It is complete all around, and has no repairs. It is nearly undamaged as well, though I made the choice to have a few small dings restored for clean edges, with color-matched restorative epoxy.

Himalaya tourmalines are known for being broken in situ, and repaired. It just goes with the territory, as the pegmatite was severely disrupted and shocked over the tens of millions of years since it formed. There are few large tourmalines from this mine and district which do not contain repairs. However, this is one of the best we have seen, as it has intense red-pink color and beautiful tapering form, with both terminations. Also, the particular style of the larger tourmalines tends to show zoning, usually with a pale green or pale pink zone mixed in. This crystal is a solid, saturated color throughout.

Colombian emeralds are the apex predator of emeralds and beryls... they just have a magical appeal perhaps due to the fact that everybody knows what emerald is, and recognizes it on a shelf. Despite being worked for 400 years (and more), the mines of Colombia are still going. However, truly great specimens are few and far between, and only a handful come out each year - a fact. There simply are not enough specimens of a level beyond "average" to satisfy the collector market. While most emerald crystals average 1-2 cm and tend to be rather slender, this specimen hosts a very large, undamaged and unrepaired emerald crystal measuring 3.4 cm tall, 1.7 cm width, and 1.4 cm to 1.8 cm thick (the top is slanted to the back, hence the narrowing).

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.

This is a very large, impressively beautiful, glassy and translucent, tourmaline with "freaky color" that is simply different than any other I have seen from these regions. It has deep raspberry colored zones, with hints of maroon and purple, saturated like no other piece we have seen. This is a major elbaite (multicolored tourmaline) crystal from the famous Paprok pegmatites. The top 2 cm of the crystal is actually quite translucent/gemmy and the color is much more uniform and richer than we can convey easily in natural light photos. It is certainly more impressive, and leaps out, more than most such robust single elbaite crystals from Paprok. ex.

Of all the specimens of rhodochrosite, and all the styles, produced by these rich Kalahari Mines in the late 1970s and early 1980s, this is among the most rare. These so-called "shield form" crystals came out of only one pocket, either in the late 1970s or early 1980s, and were never seen again. This particular specimen exhibits unusual aesthetics in that it has nice edges, whereas most are cleaved masses with broken edges showing, and this piece has combined good luster and excellent cherry color. On that fact, also, there are grades of quality even among pieces of similar color: Many have a backing of thick matrix or thick massive rhodochrosite, and so light does not transmit. This piece practically glows when backlit, and light transmits well through it. (Here it is shown with only moderate front and back lighting by halogen, but with a flashlight or LED behind it will have a deeper glow).

Zagi Mountain has produced what many consider the world's finest crystallographic examples of the species, and on this sharp specimen it is easy to see why. The stark symmetry and form, luster, and intense color of the crystals on this piece make it world class level for the species, but it is the arrangement and overall aesthetics with the banded granite make it a world class collectible display specimen for a rare species that normally, if we are bluntly candid, is not often at the caliber to be displayed in a case with "sexier" minerals. This is actually one of the finest overall examples I have seen of these finds when you take all the qualities of the piece together, and is a stunning specimen in person. The gemmy crystals measure to 1.8 cm wide and 1.2 cm thick (on the largest). This came out through Wayne Thompson some years ago, and has been in a private collection since then. No repairs.

Mimetite from the Ojuela Mine was always relegated to second class status compared to other locales, for decades. It just wasn't "sparkly" enough to compete with the specimens form a single 1969 pocket in Chihuahua state, and the clusters from here were not as crystalline as Tsumeb or other mimetites from around the world. However, in 2012, a single large pocket was hit which redefined the species from this locality and has given us a really different style entirely for the species, in quantity. Only a few Tsumeb specimens ever looked like this, in terms of shape (think, cauliflower), and they did not have such saturated color and luster. This specimen, like others from the pocket, has sparkle, intense color saturation, and a rare association with Wulfenite seen from only a few localities in the world. Taken together, we suddenly have superb mimetites of world class level from a mine which had only produced few before.

This important copper specimen is one of the single most significant coppers to come to market in my life and is from the mid-1800s heyday of mining in the Upper Peninsula. It has been preserved without damage or cleaning (which would ruin the ancient and natural patina) for over 100 years, probably closer to 150 years. For much of its life, it was in the basement of the Harvard Museum. Exchanged out to a private collector in the early 2000s because it was too big to display there, it certainly is a museum piece for other collections. Most such specimens were melted down at the time, as they were hard for miners to keep, and only the mine captains and managers had access to retrieve such large specimens as this at depth and bring them to the surface for museums or for sale (as a nice side business at the time). The Seaman Museum in the area hosts a large collection and has several large specimens of this magnitude.