Illustrated in The John Barlow Mineral Colelction, page 147. This is a famous specimen regarded as one of the most beautiful single gem crystals in the Barlow Collection. Upon that collection's sale in 1998, it went to Dr. Stephen Smale's collection where it has resided until now. It was illustrated on a full-page photo in the 1976 article on "emerging collector" F. John Barlow. It was illustrated again in his book of a few years back. Words simply cannot do this specimen justice, and neither do any of the pics in my site, the Barlow book, or the old Min Rec. The piece literally glows with the deepest ice blue color you could ask for in one of these. I don't mean just a normal pastel blue - I mean a glowing, brilliant, internally gemmy, RICH blue color! It has a luster like glass and is complete all around. except for a small bit of the backside. It has one clean repair where there was a perfect horizontal break about 1.5 inches below the termination that does not detract visually at all (probably due to a heat or stress fracture at some point as there is no chipping at the edges and if I didn't tell you, you'd think it just an internal veil). These crystals, especially of this size, are typically preferentially etched on the sides. This is no exception but in this case the etching adds to the drama, as the top and fine termination is well preserved and sits atop the etched sides making for a stunning contrast. The front faces are sharp and glassy, as I said. These blue topaz were really one of the most important and beautiful finds of the heyday of Brazilian minerals, and a find like this has not been found since. This is a top-shelf, irreplaceable piece. Weight = about 625 grams