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73-86 of 86 Items
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
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.
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SOLD
JB17-1751
Grossular Garnet
Vesper Peak, Sultan District, Snohomish Co., Washington, USA
Cabinet, 11.5 x 9.5 x 3.2 cm
Garnet from Washington state is one of those "holy grails" of collecting USA classics, but there are simply so few of any real value in a worldwide sense, compared to garnets from other locales. The best ones were said to have been collected by a team including Bart Cannon, back in the 1970s to early 1980s. This particular specimen was sold by Cannon in 1982 to collector Jack Halpern, who owned it for the following 34 years until exchanging it to me. It is simply stunning, with a unique robust color and a glass luster that these are famous for. However, I had never seen such quality of color AND luster in a specimen of this large size, before. Never cleaned or trimmed to modern standards, I have only gotten it back recently after a year in the lab.
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SOLD
JB17-1729
Rhodochrosite (shield crystals style, illustrated)
N'Chwaning I Mine, Kuruman, Kalahari MN field, Northern Cape Province, South Africa
Small Cabinet, 6.5 x 5.5 x 4.5 cm
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).
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JB17-1747
Bastnasite
Zagi Mountain, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, NWFP, Pakistan
Cabinet, 11.0 x 5.5 x 4.0 cm
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.
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SOLD
JB17-1746
Mimetite and Wulfenite
Ojuela Mine, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico
Large Cabinet, 25.0 x 10.0 x 9.0 cm
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.
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SOLD
JB17-1743
Copper
Central Mine, Central, Keweenaw Co., Michigan, USA
Large Cabinet, 38.0 x 23.0 x 9.0 cm
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.
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SOLD
JB17-1851
Apophyllite on Stilbite
Momin Akhada well dig, Rahuri, Maharashtra State, India (2001)
Cabinet, 17.5 x 9.0 x 9.0 cm
Out of all the finds of all minerals in all the world, when a collector says the words Disco Ball apophyllite, it can mean only one thing: one of under a few dozen of the great apophyllite specimens with complete spherical crystal clusters from one single find back in 2001. There is nothing else that comes close, no later find that compares, and nothing from any other locality. This piece, is one of the Ikons of an iconic pocket, not to lay it on too thickly. It was the finest complete ball on balanced matrix in its size, according to the Indian dealer who handled 90% or more of the pocket, and it is balanced and complete 360 degrees all around, without damage. It went immediately into the personal collection of Dr. Steve Smale, from whom I exchanged it some 15 years later.
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SOLD
JB17-1803
Mimetite (Gem Pocket, 1971)
Tsumeb Mine, Otjikoto Region, Namibia
Thumbnail, 2.4 x 1.9 x 1.2 cm
From the famous 1971 Gem Pocket, these crystals are the finest mimetites in existence in terms of sheer quality and there are only a handful that will ever come to market. The find has never been repeated or equaled and they remain iconic specimens in any collection. This is the most significant thumbnail specimen I have handled from the pocket, in decades of watching for them and only seeing a half dozen for sale of any caliber (less fat and gemmy than this, generally). The crystal is fat, balanced, and stunning in its gemminess. The luster is glassy, naturally. The main crystal is mostly translucent and has a sharp, lustrous and full termination.
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SOLD
JB17-1801
Mimetite (Green Pocket)
Elura Mine, Cobar, New South Wales, Australia
Small Cabinet, 9.0 x 6.0 x 3.0 cm
Mimetite from Australia is usually not considered among the world's great specimens for the species, and tends to be dull and drably colored but one particular pocket from the late 1980s has stood out and still stands the test of time. This remarkable pocket of green to yellow mimetite crystals came from an active silver mine, itself already unusual. Only a few specimens survived, and were of quality to go to collectors. I remember when they premiered at Tucson to huge excitement, and top collectors chased specimens down as they got dispersed. This is a very aesthetic small cabinet piece from that single rare find called the "green mimetite pocket," long in the collection of Martin Zinn and then another private collector, and so not on the market in several decades. It has rich, saturated color and a silky, unique luster that makes these readily identifiable from any other mimetite anywhere in all the world.
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JB17-1821
Atacamite
Lily Mine, Ica Department, Peru
Miniature, 5.0 x 4.5 x 4.0 cm
Atacamite is a rare copper species, and the previous "world's best" were found in Australia prior to 1900, at two locales. This small, remote copper and gem silica mine in the dry mountains of southern Peru, though, has matched and surpassed what we all thought for 100 years to be unbeatable status of the Aussie atacamites in our major museums. Also, the Peruvian crystals have better luster! The very best of the Peruvian atacamites are therefore worthy of consideration by any collector, for beauty and importance, though the pockets vary widely by quality and size. I have pursued these for the last 5 years as the trickle has come out. I held this piece back 2 years, waiting to see what else may come out, but it seems to have fizzled into irrelevance now in terms of more great specimens of this style.
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SOLD
D16B-65
Elbaite Tourmaline
Paprok, Nuristan, Laghman Prov., Afghanistan
Cabinet, 11.0 x 7.5 x 5.5 cm
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.
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SOLD
JB16-1658
Rhodochrosite
N'chwaning I Mine, Northern Cape Province, South Africa
Small Cabinet, 12.0 x 8.0 x 4.0 cm
This specimen exemplifies the best qualities of the pocket, nicknamed the "wheatsheaves pocket," and was found circa 1980. The luster is fantastic, and the color is a rich cherry red. It just "sparkles" like few other minerals ever do. The piece is complete all around the periphery and without damage to the display face, though it is contacted on back. The bit of manganese ore showing through, really adds a welcome contrast to the solid plate of sparkling red. Specimens like this only come about once a decade, as old collections recycle to market.
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SOLD
JB16-1665
Pentagonite with Cavansite
Wagholi Quarries, Wagholi, Pune District, Maharashtra, India
Small Cabinet, 7.5 x 5.7 x 4.5 cm
Pentagonite is the rare (very much so) dimorph of Cavansite. This means that they are the same chemistry but are actually different crystal forms, and tus different species. As rare as pentagonite is (the first Indian specimens were only found many years after the first cavansites), it is even more incredibly rare to find the two species in close association as on this piece. The specimen hosts a magnificent large pentagonite "tree" 3 cm tall, nestled into a protective pocket of stilbite and basalt matrix. There are two pentagonite crystals of this size, and between them are several clusters of cavansite crystals to 1 cm. All is sparkly and beautiful!
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SOLD
TUC14-1207
Beryl Var. Aquamarine
Marambaia, Carai, Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Large Cabinet, 21.0 x 10.8 x 8.7 cm
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.
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The Wisdom Pocket Blog

Feb 23, 2023

Rare Earth: Crystalline Treasures

Rare Earth: Crystalline Treasures, ran through September 5th, 2022 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and featured more than 200 spectacular mineral specimens from around the world. Many of these were on loan from the renowned collector and mineral dealer, Dr. Rob Lavinsky. The exhibit was uniquely interwoven with various themes and stories that make inspirational connections between architectural design & earth materials, art+science+culture, carvings and illustrations, striking color, fanciful formations, and a few cases at the end that took a deeper dive into crystal form.

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Jan 12, 2023

Collector Profile: Dr. Erika Pohl-Stroher

Dr. Erika Pohl-Ströher collected the minerals in her collection over a period of more than 60 years. The specimens are arranged according to geographical regions. Considering that Dr. Pohl-Ströher had no intention of exhibiting her mineral collection and therefore did not make a conscious effort to ensure that she obtained specimens from all over the world, she has succeeded remarkably well in setting up an extensive, comprehensive and magnificent collection that includes minerals from every continent.

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Dec 16, 2022

Collector interview: Alex Schauss

In this interview by Tomasz Praszkier, Alex Schauss shares some of his family history, and talks about his career researching nutrition and botanical medicine, and how these disciplines relate to his passion for mineralogy.

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Sep 27, 2022

Competing with Thumbnails: Little Crystals, Big Impact

What even is a mineral competition? How do you determine a winner? What makes a mineral ‘competition worthy’? David Tibbits shares his perspective on competitive displays, specifically regarding thumbnail specimens.

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Sep 5, 2022

A New Standard In Thumbnail Storage And Display - Crystal Showcase Boxes

To further assist our customers in enhancing their collections, we're proud to announce our exclusive partnership with OPENALLDAY as the sole North American distributor of their Crystal Showcase™️ boxes, an upgraded way to show off and store your favorite thumbnail mineral specimens. View these Perky Box alternatives.

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Aug 4, 2022

Why “Collector Gems” are Enchanting

Besides their inherent beauty, gem collections are appealing for their scientific information. Collectors can learn much about a mineral’s chemical composition and geological origins from a gem’s size, color and clarity. Each of the stones in the Arkenstone auction is a true mineralogical wonder—not just in the geological sense but also as a representative of the species itself.

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Jul 15, 2022

The Art of Collecting

The team at The Arkenstone has been busy with our recent collaboration with the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History on our RARE EARTH installation, bringing together specimens from the museum, Dr. Lavinsky's personal collection, UCSB's Woodhouse collection, and private collectors. With permission from museum president Luke J. Swetland, we're sharing a bit of a recent article he wrote about his father-in-law (and Arkenstone customer) David Byers.

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Jun 17, 2022

Photo Atlas of Mineral Pseudomorphism

We just received notice that Photo Atlas of Mineral Pseudomorphism will be pulled from the Elsevier publication list due to plagiarism in the main introduction of the text. Intellectual scholarship demands integrity, both of which I hold in the utmost respect. I assisted with photos for the books, and related captions for those photos, and in appreciation of this assistance, I was listed as one of the authors on the publication for this narrow scope of contribution. The portions of the text under scrutiny for plagiarism are from the main text of the book, which were outside the scope of my contribution.

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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.

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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.

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