Triphane (Spodumene) Large Gem crystal
stock #7.AE-305
Khauraz
Laghman Province,
Afghanistan
33.8CM X 4.6CM X 2.6 CM Thick (cabinet /museum)
price: $4500
A HUGE and impressive monster that is doubly terminated, top gem grade yellow triphane. Sharp, glassy luster and damage-free with only some tiny bits of matrix adhering to the main prism which is over a foot long! One end has the classic hackley/fibrous termination while the other shows a staggered pair of prismatic tips with some fine growth hillocks. This crystal like all fine gem Spodumene is highly dichroic and shows an excellent orange-pink transition on the C axis. The piece has been in a private collection for several years and the color (unlike many) is quite stable. Good Triphane has never been plentiful. This one seems to have been from the major find of 99-2000 and I have not seen much new material available over the past few years, and none as large and fine as this. I consider this a very fine display piece that is both reasonably priced and will likely have outstanding investment value.
Rutile
stock #7.AE-211
Graves Mt., Lincoln Co.
Georgia,
United States
6.8 x 5.4 s 5.0 CM (cabinet)
price: $375
A big, doubly-terminated crystal from Americas great Rutile locale, Graves Mt. This shows two distinctly different termination forms and has good luster. There are substantial contacts on the piece some with minor Muscovite (a common occurrence here) in the faces, but the large size and unusual form are what makes this piece a good one.
Azurite
stock #7.AE-117
Copper Queen Mine , Bisbee, Cochise County
Arizona,
United States
10x10x 4.8 CM (cabinet)
price: $4000
A superb, classic locality piece with fantastic esthetics and rich color. This is essentially all Azurite with a tiny bit of malachite on the reverse side, and numerous micro crystals several of the classic species the locality is famous for. This specimen is composed of well-crystallized Azurite in several habits up to 1 CM in size. This stands without aid and is very 3-dimensional. The condition is exceptional as this example is clearly very old, likely from the heyday of the mine in the later 1800's. Rare to find in this condition and quality!
From another classic locale this older miniature has well formed orthohombic crystals in an esthetic and oriented arrangement. These mines are long closed and have produced some of the best Sulpher ever found. This is a good example of the crystal form that made this location famous and is affordable compared to most.
Bournonite
stock #6.2-893
Yaogangxian Mine, Yizhang County, Chenzhou Pref.
Hunan Province,
China
3.5x3 CM (small miniature)
price: $160
Very bright, metalic and with fine luster, this bournonite miniature shows excellent form with a pleasing contast to the matrix. Much better than usual condition for this delicate, brittle mineral, however there is some chipping and contacting like all of these have. The main crystal shows a fantastic cogswheel form. Since well crystalized Bournonite is very uncommon, the better Chinese examples are already becoming classics. For now, this is a bargain!
A pre-1930's piece from the classic location of Bad Ems, best known for fine pyromorphites. This is a sharp, glassy cerussite with only minor edge chipping. It is rare to see minerals of this quality available from these old European locations.
Pyromorphite
stock #4.2-458
Daoping Mine, Gongcheng County, Guilin Prefecture
Guangxi Province,
China
2.4x2.5 CM (thumbnail)
price: $40
A very well-formed and sharp cluster of hoppered crystals with good color. These are from the early 2001 finds and are simply great Pyromorphites at a super price.
A very well presented Apatite crystal of 2.7 CM (2.3 CM wide) dominates this small miniature. Shows great form and some transparency, the color changes somewhat from a pinkish hue to a greenish grey depending on the light type. Very esthetic and yet reasonably priced.
