J11-83
Wulfenite
Ahumada Mine, Los Lamentos, Chihuahua, Mexico
Small Cabinet, 9.0 x 7.0 x 4.0 cm
SOLD
This is a classic Los Lamentos piece in regards to the style of the crystals, and the sophisticated look of isolated, aesthetic crystals spaced out on the white matrix (Baryte). These were mined mostly in the 1960s and earlier, and really fine pieces of this caliber are hard to obtain today, though smaller pieces, or larger plates coated with smaller crystals, are still available more frequently as collections recycle. The sharp contrast with white, though, is to me the most desired style from here and few pieces satisfy the criteria compared to the vast majority which are on brown matrix, or jumbled together and smother the underlaying white. The piece is palm sized and a good display size. It has crystals to a rather large 2.3 cm in size, that showcase the desired "sandwich" style of deep orange crystals with a slightly more lustrous, deeper colored central layer between the two outer layers. The side faces show higher luster, emphasizing this multicolored effect - and again, this is just the most classic type for the occurence. Joe Budd photos