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 Catapleiite and Acmite Specimen #Asia 01 4.7 x 3.2 x 2.8cm Miniature Khibiny Mountains, Kola Peninsula, Russia $20 Acmite, an alternate name for Aegerine, is named after the Greek, akme, a “point”, in allusion to its pointed crystals. Reminds me of shorl in a way. This specimen also has a minor amount of catapleiite, which is pale yellow in color. An interesting piece!  |
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Scolecite, Apophyllite & Stilbite Specimen #Asia 02 16.5x10.0x7.0 cm Cabinet Jalcon, Maharashtra, India $175 Here's a very attractive specimen from India. It starts with what I would consider to be a base generation of pale mocha colored stilbite xls (some bow tie shaped) to about 6cm. A subsequent deposition or generation, consists of fan shaped or needle like scolecite xls. They range from water clear to frosty white. Because of their thinness and fragility, I can only assume that many of their delicate terminations have sheared off. To top this specimen off, there is a generation of absolutely gemmy, pale green apophyllite xls to 2.5cm, many of which are fully terminated. All in all, this is one cool rock! |
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Calcite Specimen #Asia 03 4.0 x 3.3 x 3.0cm Miniature Dal'negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia Fluorescent $75 It's amazing to me what this area produces. No wonder it's considered to be one of the greatest, most prolific mineral producing areas on the planet. This is an exquisite, glassy and gemmy calcite specimen. There are two intergrown, glassy xls with a number of smaller xls surrounding them. They are all glassy and water clear which is this regions “claim to fame”! Under SW UV light, this one glows BRIGHT orange. Very showy piece. No damage. |
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Clinozoisite Specimen #Asia 04 3.7x2.5x1.8 cm Miniature Alchuri, Shigar Valley Baltistan, Northern Area Pakistan $125 I could best describe this specimen as an array of clinozoisite xls arranged side by side. The largest xl measures 2.2x1.1cm and is damage free except for this smallest of nicks near its termination. All of the adjoining xls are fully terminated, are undamaged and quite gemmy. When backlit, they display from an olive green to a golden color. Nice gemmy piece! |
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Fluorapatite Specimen #Asia 05 3.8x3.0x2.6 cm Miniature Kunar Province Afghanistan $225 Here's a mass of hexagonal purple xls to 1.1cm that display a bit of geminess. There are countless xls that form this mass, and there is what appears to be some sort of petroleum staining on a portion of this piece along with a few trivial dings. |
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Sphalerite, Quartz and Pyrite Specimen #Asia 06 5.8 x 4.2 x 2.9cm Large Miniature Dal'negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia $25 This specimen consists of a large cluster of sphalerite xls with a subsequent deposition of quarts and pyrite xls. The sphalerite xls are bright and lustrous and the quartz and pyrite add a bit of contrast, making this a very nice display piece. |
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Spinel Specimen #Asia 07 2.2x2.1x1.1 cm Thumbnail Luc Yen Mine Viet Nam Twinned Crystal $695 There's a bit of a story behind this specimen. Kim and I were visiting a fellow dealer picking out specimens when we came across this beauty. We opened a drawer and this one "jumped" out at us. In a drawer full of around 50 specimens, this one SCREAMED "buy me". This specimen is basically a floater and is comprised of one large xl with a number of smaller (and intact) attached xls. I have seen many a Vietnamese specimen in my time, but this is definitely one of the best! It is an excellent example spinel law twinning. The large xl displays quite a bit of geminess, especially if you back light it. Attached to main xl is a perfectly shaped octahedral xl (5mm) that has yet another small pyramidal (2mm) xl attached to it. I could go on and on as this is an incredible example of mother natures finest work. No damage. |
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Stilibite & Quartz Stalactite Specimen #Asia 08 9.2x6.0x2.5 cm Small Cabinet Jalgaon Maharashtra India $150 This is quite the unique specimen from India. To start with, it displays two light salmon colored bow tie xls to 3.4cm. They are complete, undamaged and have a minor coating of druzy micro quartz xls. They are perched on a "tree" of water clear druzy quartz xls. To me, it appears as though the quartz xls have encased another darker (gray to black) mineral species, but that is just my estimation of what happened here. If you look at the base of this specimen where it was removed from whatever medium it was growing on, you can clearly see some sort of a very black core. Personally, I think the "trunk" of this tree or stalactite, is made up of quartz with some other included mineral species, giving it it's dark gray look. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. Enjoy! |
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 Tourmaline Specimen #Asia 09 3.5x3.2x2.8 cm Thumbnail Malkhan Range Transbaikal, Russia $195 Here's one of my favorite specimens listed in this room - One from the Mother Country - Russia! It's hard to exactly describe the color, but Kim and I landed on fuchsia. It really is a very vibrant color, one that really sets this specimen off. It is singly terminated and the termination is virtually perfect. One side of the xl is covered with what appears to be muscovite xls. All in all this is one colorful and showy specimen! |
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