Sold Minerals
Zinggenstock, Grimsel area, Hasli valley, Berner Oberland, Switzerland
Size: 10.9 x 8.3 x 7.5 cm
Watch Video
|
||
The aesthetics of this fine smoky quartz specimen is utterly perfect. The main crystal - a perfect smoky quartz crystal, 2.5 cm in diameter - protrudes from a group of supporting side-crystals, perched on a natural floater-piece of sparkling white matrix. The whole piece is very well balanced. Still, the main attraction here is the dominant main crystal: Quality at the absolute top level on a somehow uncommon crystal - at close inspection you see the not quite straight growth on its left side. 360° of condensed beauty and quality! The specimen was part of a legendary find in summer 1969 by Ernst Rufibach, the so called “Rufibach cleft” which yielded a number of spectacular specimens of smoky quartz and pink fluorite!
Tole, Wana, South Waziristan, Pakistan
Size: 11.8 x 5.9 x 4 cm
Watch Video
|
|
|
It is not easy to show the exceptional beauty of this specimen in a picture. Brilliant glassy quartz crystals are three-dimensionally arranged along a thread that runs right through the center. The combination of crystals in different dimensions makes this specimen rich and vibrant all around! The whole speciment is without damage and beautiful on all sides!
Murursprung, Ankogelgruppe, Lungau, Salzburg, Austria
Size: 3.8 x 1.3 x 0.9 cm
Watch Video
|
||
Definitely one of the finest single rutile crystal we have ever seen coming from Austria! It is exceptionally large, free of any damage and shows some nice red color, although - due to its thickness - only at the surface. Unlike most other known crystals this rutile is even doubly terminated with a very beautiful and well structured crystallization at the bottom! The whole crystal is brightly lustrous as you can well see on our video. While the Ankogel group is usually famous for great sagenite rutile, this fantastic crystal is massive and exceptionally thick. A real stunner in person!
Val Nalps, Vorderrhein, Tujetsch, Graubünden, Switzerland
Size: 11.9 x 7.1 x 5.6 cm
Watch Video
|
|
|
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!
Fibbia, Fontana, Central St. Gotthard Massif, Ticino, Switzerland
Size: 8.8 x 5.8 x 3 cm
Watch Video
|
||
Fibbia is by far Switzerlands most significant source of hematite in the iron rose aggregate! This specimen is an exceptionally well balanced combination of one single isolated iron rose and two smoky quartz crystals grown atop a very well crystallized adularia matrix. The well defined hematite is only very loosely connected to the adularia thus you are able to see its beauty from all around. At some patches the hematite grew around single towering adularia which makes for lovely details in close-up. The quartz is all perfect, glassy and doubly terminated. The matrix is all natural and there is no damage anywhere here. Very well defined and stunning aesthetics made from high quality crystals!
Cavradi, Val Curnera, Tujetsch, Graubünden, Switzerland
Size: 8.4 x 8.3 x 3.4 cm
Watch Video
|
||
One prominent quartz crystal of excellent quality is set on a light grey rock matrix with accompanying smaller crystals. The main crysal is 4.3 cm long, glassy, sharp and flawless. Absolutely amazing Cavradi quartz quality!
Kaprun, Glocknergruppe, Pinzgau, Salzburg, Austria
Size: 9.5 x 8.6 x 6.3 cm
Watch Video
|
||
|
Quality of both from the front visible quartz crystals is rather spectacular with polyhedral development, super-gemmy interior and brilliant luster all around! The combination with calcite makes this piece even more interesting. As you can see in the video the specimen is very three-dimensional. Quartz and calcite crystals on the back are contacted but not broken.
Karakana Mine, Dara-i-Pech pegmatite field, Chapa Dara District, Kunar, Afghanistan
Size: 5.9 x 4.4 x 3.3 cm
Watch Video
|
|
|
|
|
Quality and aesthetics of this little jewel are absolutely outstanding and amazing! The indigolite is set on a quartz shard that’s completely crystallized on all sides - even the bottom! The 3,4 cm main tourmaline is stuck through the quartz floater with a perfect termination also on the bottom. It is perfectly gemmy and lustrous with a intensive blue color! The termination is somehow frayed yet perfect and without any damage! Very special is also the matrix which is translucent white and perfectly crystallized all around. Have a look on the attached picture for a view of the bottom face which is beautifully structured and highly lustrous! Our video nicely shows the 3-dimensional shape and the high crystal quality!
De'an Mine, Wushan, Jiangxi Province, China
Size: 9.1 x 6.6 x 2.9 cm
Watch Video
|
||
A highly aesthetic specimen of octahedral fluorite on a white contrasting matrix of countless tiny quartz needles. The quartz on the other hand was perched on a massive green fluorite, parts of which are still present at the backside. The fluorite crystals are of a marvelous color combination, green at the center and intensively purple at the edges. The condition here is very good and complete with contacts only at the periphery. A very aesthetic duality composed of high quality crystals!
|
||
Tanzanite on Matrix is not exactly common so I was happy to lay hands on this fine little beauty. While it is not the biggest crystal the balance of crystal to matrix is quite ideal and the quality is great, especially towards the termination. While the lower half of the crystal has internal cracks and inclusions (the luster though is perfect even here), the top part shows best gemmy crystal quality. It’s transparent, vibrant and with a superb complex termination. You can easily see the color change too, blue with light from the back, purple with the light from the side. An amazing specimen for the size and beautiful too!
|
||
This rose quartz specimen has a unique circular shape with sparkling crystals fanning out from the center. The crystals show very nice pink color but around the outline there are white microcrystalls atached which makes for a totally unique and beautiful picture! The condition is very good with only minimal contacts but no damage. Absolutely outstanding and remarkably attractive!
Marmottakluft, Grimselpass, Haslital, Kanton Bern, Switzerland
Size: 12.1 x 7.4 x 7.1 cm
Watch Video
|
||
This piece strikes with absolute best quality quartz crystals on a beautiful rock matrix! Several crystals are distributed about the matrix, the largest (6,4 cm long) is prominently set at the top. All crystals are in perfectly flawless condition! The rock matrix is rather beautiful as it is permeated with quartz, feldspar and limonite which gives it a lovely aesthetics! Very nice in person and with 3-dimensional appeal! The Marmotta-cleft is named after the groundhogs (“Marmotta” is the Rhaeto-Romanic word for groundhog), that are common in the Alpine area and soon populated the cleft.