Mixed Minerals
Mt Xuebaoding, Ping Wu, Sichuan Province, China
Size: 7.2 x 6.5 x 3.5 cm
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This excellent cassiterite on mica from Mt. Xuebaoding strikes with absolutely best aesthetics! The single cassiterite crystal is sharply cut and with just brilliant luster! The black crystal is set atop a beautiful matrix of white adularia and sivery tabular muscovite. The muscovite is nicely arranged and composes a fantastic, well balanced base for the main crystal! There is no damage to be found here, only some peripheral contacts but which is invisible from the main view!
Fibbia, Fontana, Central St. Gotthard Massif, Ticino, Switzerland
Size: 9.6 x 7.5 x 4.3 cm
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This iron-rose cluster is a massy piece of high quality. The roses are neatly structured and hold some rutile at the surface. Despite the very fine structure, those nested roses are very thick and show sparkling luster. At the back and the bottom of the specimen you find some matrix, which nicely adds contrast to the overall beauty. A fine piece of imposing size and top quality alike.
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca, Bolognesi Province, Áncash, Peru
Size: 6.5 x 4.6 x 3.6 cm
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Composed of hundreds of little pyrite crystals, this is a gorgeous little specimen that presents its very unique shape! The central part is a rhombic shape, probably resulting from a first generation crystal overgrown with small pyrites. The brass yellow pyrite is of very best luster and nicely developed with sparkling striations! The sculpturesque cluter sits on a small piece of black matrix with some dolomite coating. Best condition, super quality and an overall very much appealing shape!
Grieswies, Rauris, Pinzgau, Salzburg, Austria
Size: 6.2 x 3.2 x 2.1 cm
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This crystal shows a very distinctive architecture: A sharp cut sceptre head with nice etchings atop a well proportioned stem. The whole specimen is brilliantly glassy and lustrous with very sharp edges and a pointed termination. The edges are a bit rough but which but apart from one single chip on the backside there is no damage whatsoever! Also the bottom is contacted, not broken. Between head and stem you can see iron oxide inclusions which add extra life and color to the otherwise clear and colorless crystal. A superb little specimen of outstanding design and quality!
Huayllapon Mine, Pasto Bueno District, Pallasca Province, Peru
Size: 9.7 x 8.6 x 6.7 cm
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Special about this piece is the appealing composition on the one hand and the unusually well development of the single pyrite cubes on the other. Every single one of the intergrown brass-yellow crystals is beautifully striated, highly lustrous and with rich details and structures all around! This is definitely one of those specimens that are seen as more-than-just-pyrite but a superb mineral specimen of exceptional quality and beauty! The piece is in best condition with only some contact on the back and minor issues on the side-crystals. Nothing that would distract from the capturing, fascinating beauty of the main pyrite! Some small white quartz crystals around the basis add some contrast yet leaving the main attention to the pyrite. A sparkling specimen of best quality!
Morro Redondo mine, Coronel Murta, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Size: 5.2 x 4.7 x 3.3 cm
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The single main elbaite crystal dramatically stands out from a quartz that’s part lustrous, part covered with some white coating. The rather transparent quartz crystal grants insight towards several other tourmalines that have been enclosed inside the quartz. In fact also the main tourmaline continues on to the very bottom of the piece where it again protrudes from the quartz. It is a high quality pink crystal that’s totally gemmy with superb luster and a complex termination. The color is uniform throughout the crystal but changes to a light greenish at the termination. Beautiful and in very best condition!
Dzhezkazgan, Karagandy Province, Kazakhstan
Size: 8.2 x 5.7 x 2.9 cm
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Several isolated bornite crystals of dark purplish color are perched on a beautiful quartz studded matrix. While some of the crystals are sharply defined, some others are overgrown by a second bornite generation. The whole piece is without damage down to the smallest quartz crystals. At closer inspection the color is much more divers than seen at first glance. Grey gives way to intensive purple, golden, brown and blue parts. Very attractive and well developed overall!
Camissinone Mine, Zogno, Brembana Valley, Bergamo Province, Lombardy, Italy
Size: 11.9 x 8.1 x 7.4 cm
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This is a complete floater, heavily etched all around yet at some areas still showing the original cubical crystal habit! The color is a combination of very light green and violet, showing very interesting zoning throughout the crystal. Some limonite inclusions add an earthy-brown color here and there though most of the fluorite is just transparent and flawless! It is all complete and perfect all around! A stunning specimen from this important locale which is very remarkable in person!
Baia Sprie, Maramures Co., Romania
Size: 6.1 x 5.2 x 2.1 cm
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This golden shimmering cluster of chalcopyrite, studded with orange calcite, holds a nice surprise: Atop the sparkling landscape stands a pair of crosswisely arranged wolframite crystals. The wolframite are a little over 1 cm long, flawless and lustrous!
Overall this specimen is a floater with only some peripheral contacts but hardly anything noteworthy. A totally lovely specimen in person!
Mundo Nuevo Mine, Mundo Nuevo, Huamachuco, Sanchez Carrion, La Libertad, Peru
Size: 3.9 x 2.8 x 2.8 cm
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Composition and aesthetics of this augelite specimen are absolutely catchy and highly appealing. The gemmy, apple green augelite crystals of up to 1.2 cm in size are prominently presented atop a quartz-cluster. While the quartz shows some contacts the augelite is abolutely perfect and sharp. An outstanding piece from the Mundo Nuevo Mine in Peru, where by far the worlds best augelite has been found to date.
Hematita, Antônio Dias, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Size: 4.5 x 3 x 2.5 cm
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Gemmy, lustrous, sharp topaz with an elegant greenish tinge from Hematita! The locale is better known for its alexandrite appearance, but in recent years some very fine topaz finds have been done. This specimen has the straight and sharp frame of a cut gem, with a limpid body that has only very few internal cracks. The surface is highly lustrous and shows a lovely structure. The condition is near-perfect with only very minimal edge-wear. A brilliant little specimen of best topaz quality!
Ras Koh Mts., Kharan, Balochistan, Pakistan
Size: 7.5 x 5.8 x 4.2 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.Several of those "bow ties" are stacked upon each other to for this sculputresque specimen that strikes with a very catchy shape. The backside is partly covered in small white calcite crystals. The piece is a floater and in very good condition with only some peripheral contacts that are not visible from the front. A superb specimen for the find and this mineral in general!