SOLD
MD-27537
Quartz (Var: Smoky Quartz)
Giuv Valley, Tujetsch (Tavetsch), Vorderrhein Valley, Grischun (Grisons; Graubunden), Switzerland
Cabinet, 11.0 x 7.5 x 5.4 cm
SOLD
This gwindel is amazing! It is, in person, so clear, and so clean, and so lustrous, that it will blow you away. I do not use such hyperbole often because I want to save it for when I really mean it...and I do NOT get excited about quartz in general, either. This is not just my opinion...rather, it was formerly in the noted personal collection of German dealer Uli Burchard (which recently was sold) and had been there for many years as one of his top Alpine pieces, he says. Those who have seen the piece agree with me that, for its size, it is certainly one of the best examples. The gwindel itself is perhaps 30-degrees twisted and measures 11 cm from tip to tip. It is pristine save only for a contact on the very bottom of the back side of the piece. The front is particularly dramatic because it is framed by two diverging prismatic smoky quartz crystals shooting to either side, giving the gwindel in the middle some contrast in style. What is MOST amazing about the piece, though, is that it is so well-balanced on MATRIX. You almost NEVER see good gwindels on matrix from the Alps and it is this association that really sets off the crystal and makes the piece even more special. 11 x 7.5 x 5.4 cm