Gone but not forgotten
These pages are dedicated to some of the more noteworthy specimens that have come my way and have since gone to a new home.
Tourmalne var. Elbaite
Surrae, Afghanistan
Calcite on Sphalerite with Chalcopyrite
Herja, Romainia
Quartz, Sphalerite & Dolomite
Alaska, U.S.A.
Calcite on Quartz with Hematite
Dulcote
Quarry, Mendip Hills
Somerset, England
Often referred to as “Potato Stones” by the local collectors because the outer portion resembles a potato. Although there are many of these to be found in the hills & surrounding valleys, these geodes are almost never seen for sale. This is due to the fact that the main deposits are either located on private property or in quarries. Making it almost impossible to collect specimens.
Beryl
var. Aquamarine on Feldspar
(Scepter Crystal)
Darre Pech, Afghanisatan
specimen
size 4.7 x 4.9 x 4.6 cm.
crystal size 4.4 x .8 x 1 cm.
Of all the miniature sized Aquamarine matrix specimens that I've seen, this one has made the biggest impression on me. It's got a lot going for it. A big blocky, partially dissolved Feldspar crystal (I'm not sure if it's an Albite or an Orthoclase) with an aesthetic sky blue double terminated Aquamarine that has a very gemmy upper half, majestically perched on its front face and at the point where it bcomes less gemmy is a nest of hair like Schorl crystals. And, to top it all off, the Aquamarine is a scepter. Not one of those crystals with the lower portion dissolved away that are called scepters. This is the real thing. The lower termination has the same hexagonal shape as the upper portion of the crystal.
Scapolite & Sodalite
Kocksha Valley, Badakshan Province, Afghanistan
Specimen
size = 10.6 x 5 x 4 cm.
Scapolite crystal size = 2.5 x 1.3 cm.
Sodalite crystal size = 3 x 3 x 2.6 cm.
This specimen is one of the more unusual mineral associations that I've seen from the Badakshan Province of Afghanistan. Every time my Afghani connection comes back from a trip to his homeland, he always has something new and unusual from this province. This time it was this stunning specimen you see before you.
Topaz with Lepidolite and Cookeite
Teixeirinha Mine, Virgem da Lapa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
7.4 x 5.2 x 3 cm.
This extremely lustrous and gemmy, etched Topaz is from the small find made in late 2004 and features a jacket of Lepidolite covered with Cookeite.
Cerussite
on Barite
ex. Rolf Wein collection
Mibladen, Khenifra, Morocco
specimen
size = 9.8 x 7.4 x 5 cm.
crystal size = 3.2 x 3.2 x 2.7 cm.
A chunky Cerussite crystal on a mound of blade-like Barite crystals. A neat feature of this specimen is that the Cerrusite has a void in the center of the crystal. I suspect that it started out as a V-twin or sixling-twin and grew in around on itself. Another neat feature is that the bottom of this specimen has a dozen-plus smaller Cerussite crystals growing on it.
Tourmaline variety Elbaite
Cruzeiro
Mine, Santa Maria do Suaçui
Minas Gerais, Southeast Region, Brazil
4.5 x 1.3 x 1.5 cm.
I showed the photos of this specimen to my friend Michael, who was the former owner of this incredibly gemmy Tourmaline crystal. His response was; The pictures do all the talking for this juicy specimen. I agree with him, the pictures do say it all. It is an incredibly clear Tourmaline.
Pyrite
Piccadilly Beach, Newfoundland, Canada
3.5 x 3.6 x 3.4 cm.
A very cool concretion of Pyrite, crowned by a cluster of cubic crystals. These Pyrites are comprised of SEDEX (sedimentary exhalative deposits) ore, similar to the black smokers of the South Pacific. After having weathered out of their matrix, they washed ashore on the beach at Piccadilly, which accounts for the slightly water-worn appearance.
Tourmaline,
variety Elbaite
Double Terminated
ex. Irv Brown & Brett Beach collections
5.1 x 3 x 2.5 cm.
This classic double-terminated Elbaite Tourmaline exhibits a modified hemimorphic form. The color-zoned portion of this Tourmaline is much clearer than it appears here. It grades from a light olive-green to light green to pink to blue-green with an extremely thin darker green layer on the termination. While the other half is a combination of pink and red. This crystal is a floater, there is no point of contact on this crystal. Good Himalaya Tourmalines of this size are scarce these days. While sporadic work is being done at this mine, pieces such as this are not being found. These will only get more difficult to obtain in the future. This specimen was obtained by Brett Beach from Irv Brown's personal stash of self collected Himalaya Tourmalines in 1998.
Cerussite
Nakhlak
Mine, Anarak District,
Esfahan Province, Iran
7 x 4 x 5 cm.
This specimen features a multitude of very lustrous, reticulated sixling-twin crystals up to 1.5 cm. Iranian Cerussite specimens are extremely hard to find and every bit as good as those from Tsumeb.
Topaz
Dom
Bosco, Ouro Preto
Minas Gerais, Brazil
2 x .7 x .4 cm.
This lustrous “Imperial” Topaz crystal is from the find made in the early 1970's. Purple is among the rarest of all colors for Topaz and is much sought after by collectors.
Garnet
variety Uvarovite on Amesite
ex. Al McGuinness collection
Saranovskii
Mine, Saranovskaya Village,
Permskaya Oblast', Urals Region, Russia
(Type Locality)
6 x 4 x 1.5 cm.
This incredible mineral specimen features the variety of chromium Garnet known as Uvarovite, which was named after Count Sergey Semeonovich Uvarov. The Uvarovite crystals are partially embedded in a nest of lavender crystals of the mineral Amesite, making for a pleasing contrast of colors. This specimen features Uvarovite crystals measuring up to 3.5 mm. which is considered to be larger than average for this species of Garnet.
Serandite
with Natrolite, Analcime,
Aegerine, Rhodochrosite and Behoite
(ex. John Medici collection)
Poudrette Quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Québec, Canada
12.3 x 4.6 x 3.3 cm.
Here we have a superb example of Serandite, the signature mineral from Mont Saint-Hilaire. This log-like Serandite specimen features an assemblage of minerals which include: numerous white Natrolite crystals to 2.3 centimeters; several Analcime crystals, the largest of which measures 1.5 centimeters; many splendid, richly-colored rosettes of Rhodochrosite crystals; a pair of grayish tufts of the extremely rare beryllium hydroxide mineral Behoite, one of which can be seen on the lower portion on the rear of the specimen, as well as the ever-present mineral, Aegerine. This mineral specimen is a veritable all-in-one representative suite of Mont Saint-Hilaire minerals. Large Serandite crystals are hard to obtain these days, even more so, one with such a variety of associated minerals.