Complete all around and perfect! The unique shape is a bizarre product of stacked, clustered, multifaceted quartz that forms this sculpturesque floater specimen! The quartz is brightly lustrous and transparent with some internal cracks but no damage all around. It is in general colorless but has some smoky tinge at the upper terminations. A highly unusual and very good quartz specimen from Wallis!
2.5 kg of solid pink fluorite, all well crystallized and of fantastic open color. At roomlight this fluorite shows nice satiated pink but this literally explodes at direct backlight. The backside is a mix of contacted and recrystallized surface but the front is beautifully etched and flawless. Size, intensive color and quality of this specimen are absolutely remarkable and outstanding for a piece from the locale of Nagar and for fluorite in general. Watch our video for a better impression of size and elegance of this impressive piece!
A floater, a doubly terminated twin, a gemmy single titanite crystal of impressive size! This crystal is absolutely stunning and completely flawless. The surface shows brilliant luster despite the chlorite which at some spots eroded the titanite. At the frontside, where chlorite is absent you can see the alternating olive green and amber brown inside the gemmy crystal. With almost 5 cm in length, this is a real stunner, especially for the locale but for Alpine titanite in general!
This large calcite specimen was in the collection of my father Anton Watzl senior for around 50 years. It is a towering rock matrix that is over and over covered in white calcite which gives it the three-dimensional appearance of a coral reef. While nothing special on an international scale this is quite the sweeping specimen for the area!
Front- and backside are equally well developed, well balanced and focused on the freely protruding hematite rose. The rose with a sharp hexagonal outline sits on a matrix of white adularia and silver-grey muscovite, all nicely crystallized even at the bottom. The hematite itself shows great metallic luster and is in very good condition with only minor edgewear here and there. This piece is a rare gift from the Austrian Alps, attractive and rather impressive in size and quality!
Pyrite from Rotgülden is quite a classic although rare and not nearly as impressive as Pyrite from Peru or Spain. This is a just lovely example of sparkling golden pyrite in association with chalcopyrite on a white quartz matrix. It is a thin plate with a backside that is covered in white quartz microcrystals. Aside from peripheral contacts there is no damage here. The pyrite reaches sizes of around 5 mm across. Small but definitely lovely and in great condition!
This unique quartz specimen baffles me every time I see it. It is obviously a complete floater but with pointed pyramidal termination at the top AND the bottom. The crystal is translucent to transparent and colorless with very distinctive crystal habit. The head has the better quality with a transparent tip and very good luster. There is a small chip at the tip but which is only visible from the back. An outstanding quartz of totally unique shape!
The composition of this specimen seems almost supernatural. Shaped like a royal sceptre there is a shaft grown from albite, muscovite and a vertical core of schorl. At the top sits a octahedral, bright green fluorite, perfectly free and well developed on 360° and without any damage. Absolutely unique and fascinating! Have a look on our video for a better understanding of my excitement on this specimen!
The classic manganite from Ilfeld in Germany are considered to be the best of this species which becomes obvious when you look at this very specimen! The black and white contrast is absolutely top on this well balanced piece. A snow-white barite cluster at the right more and more gives way to metallic black manganite the more left you look. From this complex black and white cluster one single manganite crystal emerges. It is around 1.8 cm long, 1.4 cm thick and of uttermost perfection!
The whole piece is in best condition with a cut bottom, which was usual at the time this piece was found, some hundred years ago. A European classic of great aesthetics as our video very well shows!
A single quartz crystal of rather good quality holds a pinkish, scalenohedral calcite, 3.1 x 2.2 cm in size. The quartz is transparent yet clouded, has a lustrous surface and a crystallized bottom. The doubly terminated calcite is translucent and is nicely perched to the quartz' side. Overall there is no damage only some minor edgewear here or there. A piece of charming aesthetics from this uncommon locale.
A brilliant little thumbnail from the new find at the Kristallwand in East Tyrol, known for high class titanite. One single crystal, all sharp, gemmy and of great green and brown color, sits on a small piece of matrix, associated with a small white adularia crystal. The aesthetics is just breathtaking and perfectly well balanced! A close check with the loupe shows some very minuscule edgewear but aside of that this piece is just perfect with just stunning quality and textbook composition!
Size, weight and overall shape of this topaz specimen are rather dramatic in person! Especially the top section is also quite gemmy and shows a very well cut termination of characteristic topaz habit. With bright luster and a distinctive shape of two side-by-side crystals this piece would be a marvelous specimen if it wasn't for a couple of damages, especially aroud the base and on the backside. Still this piece has a lot going on and if you can live with some imperfections, this is an imposing piece for little money!