Cal Neva Mineral Company: Aquamarine, Morganite, Heliodor, Emerald and other Beryl Mineral Specimens

This specimen is unlike most Aquamarines from this locality as it has good color with a glassy lustre and flat termination. This crystal is not nearly as heavily included as the majority of Erongo Region Aquamarines are. Although you wouldn't think so by looking at it, the bottom of this crystal has growth hillocks, which technically makes this specimen double-terminated as well.

What can I say about Erongo Aquamarines that hasn't been said before? So I'll mostly let the pictures do the talking. This crystal has a good medium-blue color grading from translucent to transparent at its nearly colorless termination.

What can I say about Erongo Aquamarines that hasn't been said before? So I'll mostly let the pictures do the talking. This crystal possesses a good deep, inky-blue color grading from opaque to translucent to transparent at its nearly colorless termination.

What at first appears to be a specimen of bone-white Feldspar and gemmy Smoky Quartz, bears a surprise when given a closer examination. Nestled in this cluster of Feldspar and Smoky Quartz is a nearly 2-cm. slightly blue, translucent Beryl crystal. The largest Smoky Quartz on this specimen appears to have a termination with only three sides, but in fact, the remaining three are almost undetectable as they measure only 2 mm. The other Smoky Quartz crystals on this specimen also exhibit unusual modifications to their terminations.

B-158 Aquamarine-Morganite with Tourmaline & Albite $1,250
(ex. R. Rizzo collection)

I'm not sure where to start describing this specimen as it has a lot going for it. First off, I'll start by saying this; Morganite-Aquamarine combination crystals are pretty rare and when you can find them they are almost always Morganite with an Aquamarine center or one side is pink and the other is blue. You almost never see a bi-colored tabular Beryl with a Morganite core with the outer part of the crystal being Aquamarine. The combination of the pink and blue of the Beryl crystal along with the dark-green\black Tourmaline crystals (some of which penetrate the Beryl crystal with several of them being olive-green and quite transparent) and a whitish jacket of Albite make for a stunning contrast of colors. This specimen is complete all around with no damage. The largest of the Tourmaline crystals shows signs of having broken while in situ, but has been re-healed, as is indicated by the growth hillocks that are visible on the end of the crystal. This aesthetic specimen has been used in my competitive exhibits and has been part of numerous 1st place displays.

A beautiful, sculptural cluster of Aquamarine crystals perched on cluster of trigonal crystals of Schorl Tourmaline from the Erongo Mountains of Namibia. This location has become very well-known for its Aquamarine and Schorl specimens. This specimen has a very good lustre. There is an area of contact on the bottom-rear of this specimen, but it does not detract any from the overall appearance of this piece.

Here we have a good representitive specimen of Morganite that can be found at the Elizabeth R. Mine on Chief Mountain, Pala, Northern San Diego County, California. This pale-pink Morganite is nearly a floater, save for a portion of the bottom where it was attached to its matrix. Accenting this Morganite specimen are several “books” of Muscovite.

Here we have a whopper of a mineral specimen. This piece has 3 Morganite crystals flanking a huge, translucent 17 cm. Quartz crystal. The largest Morganite measures 7.5 x 3.5 x 2.7 cm. and has a small green Tourmaline that jauntily protrudes from its front face. The largest of the Morganite crystals grades from transparent to translucent. The second largest of the Morganites is almost fully transparent. The “face” of the matrix is covered with a honeycomb-like mass of crystals of Cleavelandite, due to a coating of clay minerals on them. While there are a couple small clefts near the top of the Quartz crystal, they do not detract from the overall appearance of this magnificent specimen. The specimen displays well from several different angles and with minimal cleaning would look even better than it does now. I've been buying and selling Afghani minerals for almost 20 years and rarely have I encountered a Morganite specimen on matrix that has as much visual impact as this one does. Another neat feature of this specimen is that the Morganite crystals fluoresce a good whitish color when illuminated by SWUV light.

Right out of the gate I'll say this; this is the true color of the crystal. I didn't fiddle around with the color other than to adjust it to match what the specimen really looks like. It's color is even more striking in person. It's been a long time since I've seen any Aquamarines from this location that have this intense hue. Now that things are settling down in Afghanistan one can only hope that a steady supply of these spectacular Aquamarines will be available in the future. In my opinion these are the best (other than the Emeralds of the Panjshir Valley) Beryls this country has to offer.

This cigar shaped Aquamarine is double terminated and darker blue and clearer than is shown in the photos. It is much, much better looking in person.

click on image for larger view

B-066 Beryl variety Aquamarine $190

Otala, Kunar Province, Afghanistan

3.8 x 2.5 x 1.7 cm.

This specimen intrigued me when I first saw it. In addition to it's cone shaped termination, this crystal shows signs of etching. The photos do not do this specimen justice, it looks better in person.

Aquamarine
Sao Jose Safira,
Minas Gerais, Brazil

The rest of this page consists of Aquamarines from Sao Jose Safira, Minas Gerais, Brazil. These crystals were purchased at the 2003 Tucson show. I bought the whole pocket which consisted of 33 crystals. I won't be long winded in the descriptions. All the crystals are etched to some degree, varying in color from blue to blue-green. I tried my best to make the photos match the actual color of the specimens. Some are gemmy & some are translucent, but they're all pretty cool in my opinion.

Enjoy

click on image for larger view

B-037 Beryl Var. Aquamarine $200 Reserved

Sao Jose Safira, Minas Gerais, Brazil

5 x 6 x 6 cm.

click on image for larger view

B-029 Beryl Var. Aquamarine SOLD

Sao Jose Safira, Minas Gerais, Brazil

3.5 x 3.5 x 3 cm.

click on image for larger view

B-025 Beryl Var. Aquamarine $50

Sao Jose Safira, Minas Gerais, Brazil

5 x 3.5 x 3.5 cm.

click on image for larger view

B-031 Beryl Var. Aquamarine $60 SOLD

Sao Jose Safira, Minas Gerais, Brazil

5.5 x 4.5 x 3 cm.



	Gallery 5 Aquamarine & other Beryl Specimens
	click on image for larger view B-142 Aquamarine $170 Erongo Mountain, Usakos and Omaruru Districts, Namibia 3.5 x 3 x 2.5 cm. This specimen is unlike most Aquamarines from this locality as it has good color with a glassy lustre and flat termination. This crystal is not nearly as heavily included as the majority of Erongo Region Aquamarines are. Although you wouldn't think so by looking at it, the bottom of this crystal has growth hillocks, which technically makes this specimen double-terminated as well. click on image for larger view B-150 Beryl variety Aquamarine $140 Erongo Mountain, Usakos and Omaruru Districts, Namibia 4 x 2.4 x 1.7 cm. What can I say about Erongo Aquamarines that hasn't been said before? So I'll mostly let the pictures do the talking. This crystal has a good medium-blue color grading from translucent to transparent at its nearly colorless termination. click on image for larger view B-151 Beryl variety Aquamarine $135 Erongo Mountain, Usakos and Omaruru Districts, Namibia 6 x 1.8 x 1.6 cm. What can I say about Erongo Aquamarines that hasn't been said before? So I'll mostly let the pictures do the talking. This crystal possesses a good deep, inky-blue color grading from opaque to translucent to transparent at its nearly colorless termination. click on image for larger view B-146 Beryl with Smoky Quartz and Feldspar $55 Darre Pech, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan 7.5 x 7 x 6 cm. What at first appears to be a specimen of bone-white Feldspar and gemmy Smoky Quartz, bears a surprise when given a closer examination. Nestled in this cluster of Feldspar and Smoky Quartz is a nearly 2-cm. slightly blue, translucent Beryl crystal. The largest Smoky Quartz on this specimen appears to have a termination with only three sides, but in fact, the remaining three are almost undetectable as they measure only 2 mm. The other Smoky Quartz crystals on this specimen also exhibit unusual modifications to their terminations. click on image for larger view B-158 Aquamarine-Morganite with Tourmaline & Albite $1,250 (ex. R. Rizzo collection) Mawi, Laghman Province, Afghanistan 8.5 x 8.7 x 4.8 cm. I'm not sure where to start describing this specimen as it has a lot going for it. First off, I'll start by saying this; Morganite-Aquamarine combination crystals are pretty rare and when you can find them they are almost always Morganite with an Aquamarine center or one side is pink and the other is blue. You almost never see a bi-colored tabular Beryl with a Morganite core with the outer part of the crystal being Aquamarine. The combination of the pink and blue of the Beryl crystal along with the dark-green\black Tourmaline crystals (some of which penetrate the Beryl crystal with several of them being olive-green and quite transparent) and a whitish jacket of Albite make for a stunning contrast of colors. This specimen is complete all around with no damage. The largest of the Tourmaline crystals shows signs of having broken while in situ, but has been re-healed, as is indicated by the growth hillocks that are visible on the end of the crystal. This aesthetic specimen has been used in my competitive exhibits and has been part of numerous 1st place displays. click on image for larger view B-145 Aquamarine on Schorl $75 Erongo Mountain, Usakos and Omaruru Districts, Namibia 7 x 5 x 4 cm. A beautiful, sculptural cluster of Aquamarine crystals perched on cluster of trigonal crystals of Schorl Tourmaline from the Erongo Mountains of Namibia. This location has become very well-known for its Aquamarine and Schorl specimens. This specimen has a very good lustre. There is an area of contact on the bottom-rear of this specimen, but it does not detract any from the overall appearance of this piece. click on image for larger view B-143 Morganite and Muscovite $165 Elizabeth R. Mine, Pala District, San Diego, California 4.2 x 4 x 2.5 cm. Here we have a good representitive specimen of Morganite that can be found at the Elizabeth R. Mine on Chief Mountain, Pala, Northern San Diego County, California. This pale-pink Morganite is nearly a floater, save for a portion of the bottom where it was attached to its matrix. Accenting this Morganite specimen are several “books” of Muscovite. click on image for larger view click on image for larger view click on image for larger view click on image for larger view B-133 Morganite and Quartz on Feldspar $2,850 Mawi, Laghman Province, Afghanistan 18 x 12 x 14 cm. Largest Morganite crystal measures 7.5 x 3.5 x 2.7 cm. Here we have a whopper of a mineral specimen. This piece has 3 Morganite crystals flanking a huge, translucent 17 cm. Quartz crystal. The largest Morganite measures 7.5 x 3.5 x 2.7 cm. and has a small green Tourmaline that jauntily protrudes from its front face. The largest of the Morganite crystals grades from transparent to translucent. The second largest of the Morganites is almost fully transparent. The “face” of the matrix is covered with a honeycomb-like mass of crystals of Cleavelandite, due to a coating of clay minerals on them. While there are a couple small clefts near the top of the Quartz crystal, they do not detract from the overall appearance of this magnificent specimen. The specimen displays well from several different angles and with minimal cleaning would look even better than it does now. I've been buying and selling Afghani minerals for almost 20 years and rarely have I encountered a Morganite specimen on matrix that has as much visual impact as this one does. Another neat feature of this specimen is that the Morganite crystals fluoresce a good whitish color when illuminated by SWUV light. click on image for larger view B-054 Beryl var. Aquamarine $850 Gur-Salak, Kunar Province, Afghanistan 7.6 x 1.8 x 1.2 cm. Right out of the gate I'll say this; this is the true color of the crystal. I didn't fiddle around with the color other than to adjust it to match what the specimen really looks like. It's color is even more striking in person. It's been a long time since I've seen any Aquamarines from this location that have this intense hue. Now that things are settling down in Afghanistan one can only hope that a steady supply of these spectacular Aquamarines will be available in the future. In my opinion these are the best (other than the Emeralds of the Panjshir Valley) Beryls this country has to offer. click on image for larger view B-068 Beryl variety Aquamarine $360 Double Terminated Gur-Salak, Kunar Province, Afghanistan 6 x 1.5 x 1.1 cm. This cigar shaped Aquamarine is double terminated and darker blue and clearer than is shown in the photos. It is much, much better looking in person. click on image for larger view B-066 Beryl variety Aquamarine $190 Otala, Kunar Province, Afghanistan 3.8 x 2.5 x 1.7 cm. This specimen intrigued me when I first saw it. In addition to it's cone shaped termination, this crystal shows signs of etching. The photos do not do this specimen justice, it looks better in person. Aquamarine Sao Jose Safira, Minas Gerais, Brazil The rest of this page consists of Aquamarines from Sao Jose Safira, Minas Gerais, Brazil. These crystals were purchased at the 2003 Tucson show. I bought the whole pocket which consisted of 33 crystals. I won't be long winded in the descriptions. All the crystals are etched to some degree, varying in color from blue to blue-green. I tried my best to make the photos match the actual color of the specimens. Some are gemmy & some are translucent, but they're all pretty cool in my opinion. Enjoy click on image for larger view B-037 Beryl Var. Aquamarine $200 Reserved Sao Jose Safira, Minas Gerais, Brazil 5 x 6 x 6 cm. click on image for larger view B-029 Beryl Var. Aquamarine SOLD Sao Jose Safira, Minas Gerais, Brazil 3.5 x 3.5 x 3 cm. click on image for larger view B-025 Beryl Var. Aquamarine $50 Sao Jose Safira, Minas Gerais, Brazil 5 x 3.5 x 3.5 cm. click on image for larger view B-031 Beryl Var. Aquamarine $60 SOLD Sao Jose Safira, Minas Gerais, Brazil 5.5 x 4.5 x 3 cm.
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