Benitoite, Wulfenite, and other Specimens for Sale

BEN01- Benitoite
Benitoite Mine, San Benito Co., California, UnitedStates
5.8x 4.0x 2.7 cm
$2450

As you all know, the benitoite mine is now closed and its gem bearing areas have been completely exhausted. Over the last few years, a fair amount of "mine run" specimens have reached the market--consisting mainly of highly included xtls, often etched and lacking the depth of color present in their predecessors. If you have handled both the "new" pieces and the old, then you know what I am talking about.

This specimen is "old", having been mined about 15 years ago and kept ever since by the ex-mine owner, William Forrest. Even by the standards of the older specimens, this one is exceptionally rich, boasting numerous double terminated benitoites to 1.6, and two (2) TRIPLE TERMINATED xtls, the larger being 1.15 cm. A couple of the double terms could probably be converted to triple terms with careful etching--but this specimens spectacular as is and I myself will leave it alone.

WWM1- Malachite ps. Azurite, Wulfenite Whim Creek Mine, Pilbara Region, Western Australia Australia 6.5x 6.5x 6.1 cm $585 Although Whim creek material is quite rare, this is one of the best and most aesthetic specimens that I have seen from the locality. It is a cabinet specimen, and consists of a matrix sprinkled with bipyramidal wulfenite crystals. After the wulfenites had been established, a number of primary azurite rosettes then crystallized on the same matrix. Eventually, the azurite was pseudomorphed by malachite--and that is the current state of the specimen. I wonder what will happen next? =P

UCCS1- Silver
Uchucchacua Mine, Lima Dept., Oyon Prov., Peru
4.5x 3.5x 3.0 cm
$500

Here is an exceptionally good silver from the Uchucchacua mine, famous for its rhodochrosite and the ease with which its name is misspelled.

These silvers were found in small quantities for a small period of time, and then all but stopped coming out. This is one of the better specimens that I have seen--most of the others are quite wimpy by comparison.

From my personal collection.

TSWUL1- Wulfenite, Dolomite Tsumeb Mine, Otjikoto Region, Namibia 3.5x 2.9x 2.5 cm $140 A killer Tsumeb "toenail" with a large, fat wulfenite crystal perched on a dolomite matrix. It does have a small chip on the end, but this in no way detracts from the display

SPINY1 Fluorite, Quartz Dal'Negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia 7.7x 6.9x 4.4 cm $165 A cabinet specimen, with a cluster of icy fluorites perched on a haystack cluster of frosted quartz crystals.

KUN7- Spodumene var. Kunzite
Mawi, Laghman Prov., Afghanistan
4.2x 2.5x .7 cm
$168

A beautiful, lilac kunzite crystal--in a more convenient size than the usual large cabinet specimens. Top color, and quite gemmy--in fact it was rescued from a lot of cutting material in Pakistan.

LEG26- Legrandite
Mina Ojuela, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico
2.8x 2.1x 1.4 cm
$145

A spectacular TN of this rare mineral, consisting of a double spray on a limonite matrix. This piece was collected in 1968--around the time that most of the currently available specimens were produced. Rare stuff, that just isn't being found anymore.

GAUT1- Autunite Benrgen, Vogtland, Falkenstein, Saxony, Germany 4.3x 3.2x 3.0 cm $78 Spokane? Nope...Germany! A very nice "toenail" specimen from this European locality.

YARSN1- Arsonopyrite, Muscovite
Yaogangxian Mine, Chenzhou, Hunan Prov., China
5.3x 4.4x 3.8 cm
$235

A large, double terminated 3.65 cm arsenopyrite is the star of this specimen, but there are also a few other large, undamaged crystals on the reverse and sides. Good, large arseonopyrites are getting harder to come by.

As a side note...Yaogangxian always reminds me of Panasqueira.

CYL2- Cylindrite Poopo, 4.7x 3.6x 2.0 cm $100 Cyllindite--a rare sulfosalt named for its apparently cylindrical crystals. Here is a very rich specimen, with crystals on both the front and back. Unusually aesthetic for the species.

YL2- Tourmaline var. Elbaite, Quartz, Lepidolite, Albite Poopo, 13.6x 7.4x 5.0 cm $525 This is quite simply, a pegmatite specimen that could not decide what it wanted to be when it grew up.... On one side of the specimen, there is a large, bent rubellite tourmaline on an albite matrix. On the other, there is a deeper pink rubellite, intermixed with numerous small quartz crystals, and a second generation of tourmalines. I stared at the specimen for a good 4 or 5 minutes trying to figure out exactly what was going on, or to discern some sort of chronology of formation.... I have included a few extra photographs here, but it has to be seen with the naked eye to be fully appreciated. Sawn on the reverse.

GAZ1- Azurite Altenmittlau, Freigericht, Spessart Mts, Hesse, Germany 5.3x 3.8x 3.4 cm $120 A difficult to come by specimen of primary German azurite. Although the given locality information only specifies Altenmittlau as the point of origin, I am reasonably certain that it is from the Schmitt Dolomite Quarry, in Altenmittlau.

BRAC2- Calcite
Irai, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
12.3x 5.1x 1.5 cm
$78

The volcanic environment of this region is famous for producing two things: good calcite, and good amethyst.

This is an example of the former, with two damage free, terminated calcites arranged into a v-shaped cluster.

I have heard from a couple dealers that these calcites are no longer being found.

ELK1- Barite
Meikle Mine, Elko Co., Nevada, United States
5.5x 3.5x 2.6 cm
$68

Many bright, honey colored barites from the Meikle Mine, famous for producing such specimens.

ROMB3- Boulangerite included Calcite Herja Mine, Baia Mare, Marmures Co., Romania 3.3x 2.1x 2.0 cm $40 A floater cluster of calcite crystals, with a gray color that is due to boulangerite inclusions. The mines in this area have been undergoing closures over the past few months.

MXTP1- Topaz Tepetate, San Luis Potosi, Mexico 4.6x 2.4x 1.9 cm $48 An excellent miniature topaz specimen from Mexico, with numerous terminated (and double terinated) topaz crystals on a rhyolite matrix.

ELB4 Elbaite, Cleavlandite

Stak Nala, Gilgit, Pakistan

4.6x 3.0x 2.7 cm
$75

A nice, terminated elbaite crystal with a light band near the termination, perched on a cleavlandite matrix.

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AMT43- Amethyst Las Vigas, Veracruz, Mexico 10.1x 7.5x 5.7 cm A nice cabinet amethyst from Mexico,with numerous terminated, purple crystals.

SFL1- Safflorite Gowganda, Ontario, Canada Canada 6.5x 3.7x 3.4 cm $85 A rich and rare specimen of this cobalt, iron, arsenic alloy, on matrix. Rich, but not pretty. At all.