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Pegmatite Mineral SpecimensFALL SALE 25 - 50% OFF ALL MINERAL SPECIMENSReturn to Mineral Specimen Galleries
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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 and 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 in color) and a whitish jacket of Albite make for a good contrast of colors. This specimen has no damage and is a complete crystal. The largest of the Tourmaline crystals shows signs of having been re-healed, as is indicated by the growth hillocks that are visible on the end of the crystal.
C-316
Elbaite & Quartz on Cookeite cast after Tourmaline Araçuaí, Minas Gerais, Brazil 12.9 x 7.6 x 5.2 cm A vug of Cookeite that once encased a large Tourmaline crystal that dissolved away leaving a bed of greenish-blue Elbaite on the lower front portion of the specimen. The termination of this specimen features a 2 cm Tourmaline crystal that has been replaced by Lepidolite. Also present on the Cookeite “shell” are several groups of Quartz crystals.
M-076 Muscovite
var. Sericite pseudomorph after Tourmaline Noyes Mountain Quarry, Greenwood, Oxford County, ME 7 x 6.8 x 6.2 cm A good-sized Tourmaline crystal that has been partially replaced by silvery-green crystals of Sericite (a variety of Muscovite). This specimen has a shallow termination on the upper portion with a more crudely-formed termination on its bottom. The composition of the Tourmaline from this location is an intermediate between Schorl and Dravite. These specimens were collected in the early 1980's and are highly prized by collectors. This quarry was worked briefly by Loren Merrill and Arthur Valley in 1921-1922 for the benefit of Kenneth K. Landes, then a Harvard University student. Landes' dissertation, Paragenesis of the Granitic Pegmatites of Central Maine (American Mineralogist, 1925, v. 10, p. 355-411) was based on this quarry and the Bennett Quarry in Buckfield and his thesis revolutionized ideas about how pegmatites crystallize.
T-376 Topaz
Pedra Azul Pegmatite District, Minas Gerais, Brazil 4.5 x 5.4 x 3.6 cm A Topaz crystal with a complex termination that has a small layer of Albite on one portion. This crystal has a blue-green hue and is mostly transparent. One corner of the specimen has an indented form. There is a small chip on the bottom of one corner face of the crystal but is barely noticed.
A-104 Fluorapatite Sapo Mine, Ferruginha, Conselheiro Pena, Minas Gerais, Brazil 5.6 x 3 x 1.3 cm. Apatite from this mine has come out in a vast array of styles over the years, this particular form being the most interesting in my opinion. This sculptural and complex Apatite crystal shows an interesting inter-grown form with divergent columns emanating from the upper portion of the specimen. As an added bonus the crystal is hollow, is terminated on all ends and damage free with a great lustre.
F-312 Microcline (Manebach
twin) Medina Pegmatite Field, Pedra Azul, Minas Gerais, Brazil 8.6 x 7.5 x 3.5 cm A large crystal of Manebach-twinned Microcline from Brazil's renowned Pedra Azul District. This crystal is has an bone-white hue with darker flesh colored highlights. Also present on this specimen are small crystals of Muscovite.
T-308 Schorl
with Beryl inclusion Dara-i-Pech Pegmatite Field, Chapa Dara District, Konar Province, Afghanistan 2.8 x 2.4 x 2.5 cm. Just when you think that you've seen it all from Afghanistan, there's this specimen A lustrous crystal of Schorl that is include by a clear, colorless Beryl crystal. The Beryl continues down the length of the specimen with a small portion protruding from the Schorl's bottom. Another neat feature of this specimen are the pronounced and well-formed growth hillocks on its beveled termination. I have sold a good amount of material from Afghanistan over the last 32 years and I have only seen one other specimen like this.
B-205 Aquamarine
on Quartz Tirschenreuth, Oberpfalzer Wald, Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, Germany 4.8 x 3.4 x 4.6 cm. An exceptionally nice (especially for Germany), translucent, pale green-blue Aquamarine crystal, perched on a matrix of Quartz. Beryl specimens from Germany are few and far between and are usually not terminated. When they are it is usually a flat termination that is often crude. Not only is this Aquamarine terminated, the termination is a Pyramidal one. This is most likely an older German specimen from the 1800's.
B-256 Aquamarine
on Microcline with Smoky Quartz, Fluorite & Opal-AN
(Hyalite) Erongo Mountains, Karibib Constituency, Erongo Region, Namibia 15.6 x 13.4 x 9.4 cm This large specimen consists of many twinned Microcline crystals measuring to 7 cm that serve as a host for numerous crystals of Aquamarine and Fluorite. The Aquamarine crystals range in color from sky blue to a light, inky-blue hue. The Fluorite crystals that seem to be everywhere on this specimen are found as cubes, some of which are modified on their edges and range in color from mint to medium green. There is one yellowish Fluorite crystal on this specimen that was suggested to me as possibly being Yttrofluorite but I have not had it tested. Also present on this specimen are partially clear crystals of Smoky Quartz measuring up to 3cm. The white mineral on the top portion of this specimen is Opal-AN, also called Hyalite and is fluorescent. All of crystals on this specimen are complete and undamaged. An aesthetic and very 3-dimensional specimen that can be displayed with several different orientations and always look good.
T-374 Topaz,
Smoky Quartz and Orthoclase Diamond Rocks, Mourne Mountains, County Down, Northern Ireland, UK 7 x 3.8 x 3.1 cm A vug of Smoky Quartz and Microcline. The left side of the vug features three Topaz crystals, the largest of which measures 3 millimeters. Specimens from location rarely make it outside of the UK.
H-073 Hematite
pseudomorph after Siderite on Microcline
Lake George, Park County, CO 4 x 3.9 x 2.6 cm. This magnificent, as far as pseudomorphs are concerned, mineral specimen was found around 15 years ago by friends of mine from southern California while on vacation in Colorado. Being a collector of pseudomorphs myself, I am greatly impressed by the faithful replacement of the Siderite by the Hematite. Most pseudomorphs do not retain such an exact form of the mineral species that they have replaced. The Hematite pseudomorphs are perched on a crystal of Microcline making for a nice contrast of colors.
M-063 Muscovite
& Orthoclase Chabanne Quarry, Saint-Sylvestre, Haute-Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France 4.3 x 3.8 x 3.7 cm This specimen features many spheres of Muscovite measuring up to 7 mm in size, on a matrix of flesh-colored Orthoclase. Examples of botryoidal Muscovite, or any of the Mica minerals, are rare.
S-182 Spodumene Walnut Hill Pegmatite, Huntington, Hampshire County, MA 3.5 x 2.7 x 2.8 cm A tan-colored, terminated crystal of Spodumene from an old-time East Coast locality. This historic site was noted for terminated Spodumene crystals, collected in the mid- to late-1800s and now found in museums around the world
S-163 Stilbite Mawi Pegmatite, Nilaw-Kolum Pegmatite Field, Du Ab District, Nuristan, Afghanistan 3.9 x 2.7 x 2.7 cm While not unheard of, Zeolite minerals in pegmatites are not that common. Especially when it comes to Afghanistan where the only other pegmatite occurrence of a zeolite mineral are the Pollucite crystals from a find 15-20 years ago. This specimen features many well-formed and undamaged crystals of honey-brown-colored Stilbite. I'd seen several of these associated with Kunzite a few years back but that was it for this find. This specimen would make a fine addition to anyone's collection of pegmatite or zeolite minerals. The photo does not do this specimen justice; it is more 3-dimensional when viewed in person.
T-343 Elbaite Mawi Pegmatite, Nilaw-Kolum Pegmatite Field, Du Ab District, Nuristan, Afghanistan 6 x 4.4 x 2.4 cm A pod or concretion of finely crystallized, mint-green-colored Tourmaline.
B-244 Beryl
with Albite & Muscovite Baha, Braldu Valley, Skardu District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan 7.5 x 6.5 x 5 cm Here we have a combo specimen of bi-colored Beryl, bronze\brass-colored Muscovite and massive, white Albite. The Beryl crystal is double-terminated and has a glass-like lustre. An interesting specimen from one of Pakistan's lesser know pegmatite localities. A-125 Fluorapatite
with Muscovite Golconda Pegmatite Field, Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, Brazil 4.9 x 4.5 x 3.3 cm A double-terminated crystal of Fluorapatite with several plate-like, well-formed crystals of Muscovite. This crystal has a satin-like lustre and features a secondary growth of smaller and clearer Fluorapatite crystals. Areas of this specimen exhibit a moderate SW & LW fluorescence. |
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