A massive cubical galena crystal with a broad 6.4 cm edge right at the front is aesthetically set on a vividly shaped grey matrix with chalcopyrite microcrystals. The aesthetics of this specimen is one of a kind, straight forward and very much perfect. The single large crystal shows nice metallic luster and beautiful surface structure like a hand crafted iron cube. Very distinctive and appealing in person!
Had I designed this thing, it would be no different! Best textbook aesthetics of one main quartz crystal on a perfectly crystallized matrix of pericline. The quartz is simply perfect: Exceptionally sharp and glassy with beautiful chlorite inclusions and thin side-crystals sticking out from its side to even improve this amazing picture! The quartz is set on a single 6.6 cm long pericline that looks somehow weathered due to some chlorite but is completely developed all around. The whole piece is in exceptional condition. Although it had to be repaired after it went off the pericline this is hardly visible and there are no chips or abrasions on the main crystal. With best quality and outstanding composition this is a stunner from a very much uncommon locale!
Luster and surface structure on this gemmy green titanite twin are outright spectacular! Sharp like a scalpel and designed like a piece of engraving artwork this crystal is utterly unique! The tabular crystal is unusually flat and somehow irregularly constructed but which gives it just another dimension of uniqueness. The inside is all gemmy with a mix of apple green and earth brown zones. The backside is flat with a frosted surface. It's about the front which is just breathtaking indeed. Always astounding what nature is capable of!
This is a single, doubly terminated smoky quartz crystal of excellent quality with two absolutely flawless terminations. At the base where it was attached to the matrix it features some white feldspar as well as some chlorite, expanding a little over one of the terminations, but the rest of the crystal is completely free and lustrous. A superb specimen of unusually well defined character!
A doubly terminated tourmaline of cherry red color holds a second likewise doubly terminated transverse crystal of matching quality and color. At the termintions the color changes in parts to olive green, the center is getting darker towards the lower end of the specimen. The translucent crystals need some backlight illumination to reveal their beauty that lies behind the semigloss, striated surface. The composition of this piece is totally unique, combined with good crystal quality and without any damage.
Barite from Cumberland is an old-time classic and this piece totally shows us why! A large and dominant crystal of blue barite sits on the red matrix which makes for an unusual and very appealing color combination! The barite itself is perfectly developed on all sides, is in best condition and has quite intensive light blue color. Through the partly transparent barite you can see the red hematite coating that covers the backside. Hematite and - especially at the fully crystallized backside - Dolomite microcrystals are rounding out the piece. A beautiful specimen of superb quality and wonderful aesthetics!
High quality, best condition and a distinctive aesthetics make this piece special and recognisable among the large number of Alpine quartz specimens. The matrix is a sparkling landscape of albite and quartz microcrystal from which a number of larger crystals emerge. At the very center of the 3-dimensional piece stands a spray of elongated prisms that make for a attractive and very much distinctive look! The quartz is transparent, lustrous and sharp, showing hardly any signs of abrasion or damage - with the exception of a small chip at the larger crystals tip thats but hardly visible on a remarkable and complex piece like this. Simply beautiful!
Luster, clarity and composition of this outstanding specimen are absolutely gorgeous and unique! I had this piece in my personal collection for many years and for a good reason! The sceptres head is sharply cut with a complex design that is in parts constructed from doubly terminated crystals. Pyramidal faces show "Fenster" which adds even more to the exceptional beauty! This glassy sceptre head is set on a slightly milky stem with very aesthetic side-crystals all of which are perfect and with re-crystallized contact faces. There is one very tiny chip near the tip but which is only visibly in very close inspection. All in all this is a remarkable piece that really catches the eye with pristine quality!
A new 2018 tourmaline pocket has been opened in the Pyingyi Taung region, somewhere close to the village Let Pan Hla, and the found specimens by far outshine all previous finds of this mineral in the region! The intensive cherry-red color as seen in the pictures is not exaggerated at all and best sparkling luster even emphasizes the pristine quality and aesthetics! Amidst those sparkling tourmalines is a single transparent quartz crystal which provides a nice contrast to the intensively colored tourmalines. All is set on a rock matrix that is covered in a mix of red and dark green tourmaline as well as some white quartz. There are some contacts distributed about the matrix but all main crystals are perefctly intact and of best sparkling gem quality! Absolutely wonderful and with a distinct natural look!
Not a single scratch! It might be hard to believe on a high quality specimen like this but however close you look, there is nothing, not the slightest abrasion, no damage, not a single scratch! This scepter is out of the famous 1980 find at the Sandkopf and it is a total stunner. The glassy head is very sharp and distinctively developed. It shows best luster, colorless transparency and a uniquely fine architecture! The stem is somewhat more milky with some feldspar inclusioins which separates it from the head. Surface luster and condition are equally perfect here, even the bottom is not broken but contacted and re-healed. This is a gorgeous marvel of considerable size that is a masterpiece for the mineral and the locale alike!
Perfectly lustrous and glassy quartz provides a window to a marvelous internal landscape. While this crystal is already striking by itself, showing superb quality and virtually not a single scratch, most impressive about this specimen are beautiful brown inclusions, supposedly phlogopite, a member of the mica family. Especially pleasing and definitely rare, as I have never seen such a combination before!
Phosgenite specimens from the lead-mining district near Iglesias in Sardinia are world-famous classics and still count as the best of the species!
This single flawless crystal is transparent with a nice cream color. It is 1.4 cm in diameter and sits in a small vug at the very center of a bright galena matrix, which is positively appealing in person!