Mixed Minerals
Paprok, Nuristan Province, Afghanistan
Size: 8.1 x 5.2 x 2.7 cm
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This cluster of basically two doubly terminated tourmaline crystals is a textbook example for the kind of unusual aesthetics that stands out from the crowd! In fact this specimen is a complete and flawless floater that features brilliant tourmaline on a base of blocky feldspar and lovely sparkling cleavelandite. While the combination is stunning for sure, the main thing is the tourmalines that strike with best luster, attractively developed stepped growth and gemmy green color! Even at room light illumination the open color is bright and fresh. Interesting enough the two crystals show different color development. Besides the green main color one crystal changes to white while the upper, more compact crystal has a pinkish red lower termination. All this sums up to an unusual and brilliant specimen of gorgeous aesthetics! No repair, no restoration, just perfect!
Val Gronda da Cavrein, Vorderrheintal, Graubünden, Switzerland
Size: 6.6 x 3.5 x 2.7 cm
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A vertical piece of matrix, sparkling with some quartz micro crystals, holds a cluster of clear and colorless quartz. The quartz is grown in an unusually complex pattern which is very much appealing and perfectly presented on matrix. The right end of the structure is contacted which accounts for the surprisingly low price for this otherwise outstanding and beautiful piece!
Ras Koh Mts., Kharan, Balochistan, Pakistan
Size: 6.9 x 4.2 x 3.2 cm
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Bow ties, stacked upon bow ties, constructing a sweeping sculpture of superb luster and intriguing aesthetics! The epidote aggregates are highly lustrous, jet black shapes that are very much characteristic for a recent find of this unique type of epidote! This unusually fine specimen is a complete floater without any damage all around. The backside is marked by some white calcite. While this calcite is only peripherally visible from the front, it adds a certain touch, emphasizes the outline and adds some contrast. Stunning aesthetics and very best quality are piled up to construct this fabulous exemplar of bow tie epidote!
Pampa Blanca, Huancavelica Department, Peru
Size: 10.6 x 7.9 x 6.2 cm
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The fanning crystals of this specimen are very characteristic for the locale but still, this piece is exceptional and stands out from the crowd! With over 10 cm in hight it’s save from getting lost in a crowded showcase, especially as the quality of the epidote really catches the eye! Superb luster on all sides, sharp terminations and a sweeping architecture make this specimen special. Some associated white calcite contrasts with the deep forest green color of the epidote! While some of the epidotes show contacts, none of them are freshly broken and seems to be re-healed. Overall the condition is superb with no actual damage anywhere around! As you can very well see in our video, the backside is not even a real backside, it’s way too beautiful for that! A 360° beautiful specimen that is highly appealing in person!
Tormiq valley, Haramosh Mts., Skardu District, Baltistan, Northern Areas, Pakistan
Size: 9.9 x 7 x 3.3 cm
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Tormiq is well known for its Alpine type titanite specimens and you can easily see why. This rock matrix is richly covered in grass-green titanite twins up to around 1.5 cm in size. What is very intriguing about the aesthetics here is the divided main view which features said titanite wealth but also a zone of white calcite and albite which nicely contrasts with the green zone. However, the titanite is of very fine quality, lustrous, gemmy and flawless. Unusual composition meets superb quality!
Elba Island, Livorno Province, Tuscany, Italy
Size: 9.5 x 5.8 x 4.5 cm
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Elba Island is one of the great classical localities of Europe and has produce a great many different minerals over the centuries. While, as type locality of elbaite, Elba is primarily known for fine tourmaline specimens, many other great mineral specimens have been unearthed here. This superb specimen is a shiny example for the high quality this locale produced. Highly lustrous hematite crystals up to 2.5 cm in diameter are clustered across a heavy matrix like a sparkling crown. The hematite is associated with small quartz needles as is characteristic for the locale. The metallic luster has a red tinge to it, revealed at closer inspection under direct downlight. This is an outstanding and just staggering hematite specimen from one of the most famous classic locales!
Mundo Nuevo Mine, Mundo Nuevo, Huamachuco, Sanchez Carrion, La Libertad, Peru
Size: 6.9 x 5.3 x 3.9 cm
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This is probably the most aesthetically striking and also best preserved specimen I have seen of this exceptionally rare mineral combination that has been found only at this one locale in Peru! Stacked scheelite crystals are towering above a white quartz cluster and show very well defined octahedral shapes. The scheelite is completely coated in signal yellow stolzite which is extremely rare and definitely gorgeous in person! Unlike most specimens of this type this coating is almost flawless with only very minimal abrasions. The backside shows some hübnerite going up like a spine that supports the scheelite architecture. A spectacular specimen of very unusual character!
Ampanivana pegmatite, Betafo District, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
Size: 7.1 x 3.9 x 3.4 cm
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This is an interesting and rich paragenesis of liddicoatite and londonite on albite which is extremely rare - especially when it comes to attractive and aesthetic specimens like this one! The albite matrix is like a boat, carrying passengers of red and green liddicoatite. At the very center you can see the single yellowish londonite crystal, all sharp and perfect. The liddicoatite is heavily encrusted with white feldspar microcrystals but still well enough visible to make this an intriguing specimen of contrast and variety! Very beautiful in person as you can much better grasp in our video!
Zagi Mountain, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Size: 4.6 x 3.6 x 2.4 cm
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Bastnäsite on matrix is something we are not seeing every day. Having one of this exceptional quality on a beautiful, sparkling, black and white matrix is definitely worth celebrating! Several doubly terminated bastnäsite crystals are stacked upon each other and form a very lively and attractive piece. The crystals are all perfect, highly lustrous and richly amber-colored. The bastnäsite is set on a diverse gneiss matrix with beige feldspar crystals and some black crust, providing a nice contrast. Perfect in composition and crystal quality!For a better view on the 3-dimensional qualities of this fantastic piece, please watch our video!
Turt Mine, Turt Negresti-Oas, Oas Mts, Satu Mare Co., Romania
Size: 9.5 x 8.1 x 4.3 cm
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This is a marvelous paragenesis of chalcopyrite, galena and sphalerite that is rather characteristic for the Turt Mine in Romania where it was found. The specimen is crystallized on all sides with one 2.5 cm contact on the side but no damage! The sculpturesque shape with starkly contrasting association is aesthetic in its very own classic sense! Have a look on our video for a better all-around impression and a better 3-dimensional feeling!
Ras Koh Mts., Kharan, Balochistan, Pakistan
Size: 15.8 x 12.9 x 8.6 cm
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This epidote specimen is from a recent find in the western Pakistani Mountains that revealed a completely unique and highly aesthetic "bow tie" shape. Sprays of dark green, lustous epidote form this sharp clusters in a just lovely way. This sure is the central piece of the find and it impresses with sheer size and a flood of details alike! The main view is a wonderland of dozens of sparkling, nested epidote "bow ties" of best quality! While the front is a jet black landscape of high class epidote, the backside is much more covered in byssolite and calcite microcrystals. Contacts are limited to the backside only, the front is all perfect and beautiful! A major piece of Pakistani epidote!
Val Gronda da Cavrein, Vorderrheintal, Graubünden, Switzerland
Size: 7.6 x 5.9 x 5.5 cm
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This is a remarkably beautiful quartz specimen from Val Gronda da Cavrein that shows best textbook aesthetics! One large main quartz surrounded by several side-crystals is perched on a well proportioned piece of rock matrix. The quartz is glassy and lustrous with only very few internal clouds. The chisel-tip termination is exceptionally sharp and completely flawless! Most unusual about this specimen however is the greenish layer that coveres the matrix. The surface is completely covered in transparent quartz which again grew over an association of chlorite and epidote, which is rare for the Swiss Alps and only characteristic for this valley! Very unusual and appealing in person!