J14-63
Aquamarine, Spessartine, Mica, Feldspar
Dassu, Shigar Valley, Skardu, Pakistan
Cabinet, 9.9 x 5.5 x 5.1 cm
SOLD
We have all seen innumerable Pakistani aquamarines, but this one took me by surprise. This highly unusual specimen features a 10 cm-long, rich sky blue aquamarine crystal, which has been highly etched along its prism faces to create an intricate, cityscape surface on the sides. Most unusual, the basal (flat) termination is unaltered and completely flat and glassy for the upper 8 mm or so, and the flat surface atop!. Near the aqua base are two separate clusters of reddish-brown, lustrous, slightly translucent spessartine crystals, to 7 mm across. These are perched on very minor muscovite and feldspar. As a bonus, a small cluster of mica and garnet is actually included within the termination, at a depth of under 1 cm down. You can see it clearly from above. This is a strange, intricate crystal that really is just beyond the normal appearance of any aqua I have seen from this productive district.