Alpine Treasures 23
Val Nalps, Vorderrhein, Tujetsch, Graubünden, Switzerland
Size: 11.9 x 7.1 x 5.6 cm
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Found in a very small vug that contained only three pieces of specimen quality, this is the only one on matrix! A single 4.1 cm quartz with faszinating fire-orange rutile inclusions! Even at low illumination the crystal radiates the intensive color of hundreds of rutile needles, embedded in a colorless, glassy quartz body. The main crystal is set on a beautiful matrix and associated with several smaller crystals, some with rutile, some without and completely water-clear! The backside of the main crystal is contacted but aside from that the whole specimen is in outstanding condition! After many years in Swiss museums this exceptionally rare specimen of rich color and pristine quality has found its way to us and is now waiting for a new home!
Gletschhorn, Furka pass area, Urseren, Uri, Switzerland
Size: 5.5 x 3.7 x 2.7 cm
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A highly lustrous, completely skeletonized smoky quartz crystal that is all complete and in very good condition. The quartz is glassy without any internal cracks or inclusions. The backside is rough due to white spots of feldspar but the front is very well developed and sparkling. There is some minimal damage distributed about the crystal but which is hardly visible and mainly on the backside anyway. A beautiful floater of Alpine smoky quartz!
Grieswies, Rauris, Pinzgau, Salzburg, Austria
Size: 9.5 x 5 x 3 cm
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The Rauris region is one of the finest locales for quartz in Austria and this incredibly fine quartz specimen is definitive proof of that! The main crystal has its very own unusual architecture. Obviously it is constructed from at least three intergrown crystals, very naturally combined to one sinlge dominant dagger-like crystal! Sharp edges and termination as well a the brilliant luster and limpid body make this a fantastic high quality specimen! Several smaller side crystals improve the overall aesthetics and make this piece so very much unique! A stunner of distinctive aesthetics and highest crystal quality!
Frunthorn, Valsertal, Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
Size: 5.6 x 4.6 x 3.7 cm
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Frunthorn is well known for great fluorite specimens but this one has the very rare color that is not pink but actually RED! The octahedral crystals are flower-like attached atop a piece of matrix, associated with some smoky quartz. Miraculously this fluorite is all perfect and really gemmy at the inside. The surface is frosted in some parts but shows perfect wet-look luster in other parts! This wonderful specimen of exceptionally rare quality and color is for sure one of the finest from this famous locale!
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The size of this elongated prismatic quartz is totally stunning in person but even more so for its striking quality! After a murky zone at the bottom where it grew on the rock face the crystal turns completely limpid and stays that way up to the sharp and pointed termination! The surface shows wet-look luster on the front faces which is amazingly beautiful in person. Some iron oxide inclusions towards the termination but also on the bottom add a golden color that is very much characteristic for the region. The whole piece is in outstanding condition with some rough edges at the backside but no visible damage!
Geren Valley, Oberwald, Goms, Wallis, Switzerland
Size: 10 x 8 x 5 cm
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As we are based rather close to the Alps we frequently reach opportunities for great and rare rocks from that region. This specimen is a very rich paragenesis that combines rather large and dominant rutile on a matrix of wonderful sparkling muscovite and snow-white pericline. The specimen is very much 3-dimensional and resembles the alpine landscape full of beautiful details! The large rutile “knee” at the center is 2 cm long and over 1 cm thick which is just exceptional for the locale! There is no damage all over the specimen, only some peripheral contacts. It is a classic old piece, found in 1969 and still hasn’t lost ist unique value!
Winterstock, Göscheneralp, Göschenen Valley, Uri, Switzerland
Size: 10 x 8.7 x 6.2 cm
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A very well composed piece of quartz on an all crystallized feldspar and chlorite matrix! The quartz shows a subtle smoky color and is developed in straight prismatic crystals with pointed terminations. The inside is completely clear, the surface lustrous with only very slight chloritization on the terminal faces. I like the overall aesthetics of the piece that features one obvious main crystal and several supportive side-crystals on a very natural matrix with no damage. Very nice in person and hard to come by in such appealing design!
Roter Mann, Kleines Fleißtal, Goldberggruppe, Hohe Tauern, Carinthia, Austria
Size: 13.5 x 8.9 x 7.7 cm
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The massive, stocky shape of this exceptionally dark smoky quartz is totally unique for the locale! The whole piece is in excellent condition with a completely crystallized underside and almost no wear or abrasions! The quartz has a dark and warm brown color that is visible throughout the thick glassy body. Save for some internal cracks the interior is all transparent and really amazing! The surface shows beautiful structures all around and very best luster. There are hardly any smoky quartz specimens from the eastern Alps that compare to this striking crystal from the northern face of Roter Mann!
Lienzinger, Hollersbachtal, Pinzgau, Salzburg, Austria
Size: 3.1 x 1.4 x 0.8 cm
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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!
Sandkopf, Kleines Fleißtal, Hohe Tauern, Kärnten, Austria
Size: 9.5 x 4.3 x 4 cm
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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!
Großglockner, Glockner Group, Hohe Tauern, Carinthia, Austria
Size: 15.9 x 12.4 x 6.3 cm
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Good calcite specimens from the eastern Alps are scarce and mostly limited to the Glocknerhauptkamm, the main ridge of the Glockner. This specimen was found by the famous collector Gottlieb Obkircher and is one of the finest found in this region! A thin plate of matrix is covered in white adularia and some contrasting dark chlorite. Upon this matrix lies a massive piece of colorless calcite like a stranded whale. The calcite is perfect, glassy and with a characteristic shimmer! A grand specimen of superb Austrian calcite on matrix as we have hardly seen alike!
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A superb quartz specimen from the Binntal that strikes with incredibly good quality and the impressive size of 16 cm! The striated surface shows excellent luster, encompasses the tessin quartz habit and emphasizes the sharp contours! The tapering shape leads right up to the pointed and flawless termination! Around the middle section and the base you will find some mica which adds much to the already attractive design! Overall this glassy specimen is in very best condition. One broken side crystal at the base is the only small flaw, the rest is just pristine and perfect!