Mixed Minerals!
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HCU02 Fluorite on Dolomite
Aksu, Xinjiang Prov., China
9.5x 8.5x 4.0 cm
$685
A very nice example of fluorite on (I believe) dolomite from recent finds in Xinjiang. I have been trying to find matrix examples, but they seem to be much less common that matrixless, and those I have found have typically been damaged.
This one has a crystal perfectly positioned on top of a contrasting off-site matrix, the crystal itself shows the multiple generations of growth that make these distinctive, with an etched purple core overgrown by zoned purple cubes. Very well balanced piece!
A video can be viewed here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7wjKUNRDAp/. . Seeing the reflections off of all the faces really helps!
HCU03 Fluorite
Aksu, Xinjiang Prov., China
8.8x 5.8x 2.6 cm
$565
A very pretty example of fluorite from recent finds in Xinjiang, this one appears to be a floater with an etched back, and an overgrowth of later generation, cubic crystals, some showing zoning when backlit. In the close-up picture showing the back/side, you can see how those cubes wrap around the back of the specimen.
I stumbled upon a large lot of these, my eye instantly went to this one!
A video can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7wZASSx2Gu/ . It really helps to see the reflections!
HCU04 Bery var. Aquamarine on Muscovite
Huya Village, Mt. Xuebaoding, Sichuan Prov., China
7.2x 5.5x 3.2 cm
$395
A pretty and well-balanced example of aquamarine crystals on a muscovite matrix, showing the typical, flattened form that this locality is known for. These are excellent luster, and have a good balance between transparency and color-- usually they are more foggy inside, or you have to imagine the color-- while by no means the bluest, I'd day these are quite good for the size/ location.
HCU05 Copper ps. Cuprite with Cuprite
Rubtsovskoe Cu-Zn-Pb deposit, Rudnyi Altai, Altaiskii Krai, Western-Siberian Region, Russia
7.0x 4.3x 3.0 cm
$780
Around 15-16 years ago, there was a massive discovery of world class cuprite crystals at the Rubtsovskoe Mine--they were a staple of the Russian dealers for a few years after the find-- though a couple years after the initial discovery of those more ubiquitous
cuprite crystals, these really interesting copper pseudomorphs after cuprite
were discovered, though they came out in much smaller numbers than the
cuprites.
This one is kind of an unusual combination piece-- there were a fair number of cuprite octahedrons on somewhat poorly formed, thickly branching copper, but there were very few combinations of cuprite with cuprite pseudos-- this one has an octahedron sitting on a cluster of octahedrons that have been totally replaced by dendritic copper.
HCU06 Copper with Cuprite (and silver?)
Rubtsovskoe Cu-Zn-Pb deposit, Rudnyi Altai, Altaiskii Krai, Western-Siberian Region, Russia
4.6x 3.0x 2.2 cm
$325
A nice combination specimen of cuprite and native copper, this one has an octahedron sitting on a cluster of reasonably well formed copper crystals, by the standards of this find. There were a lot of single crystals, but good combos were always harder to find, or quite expensive (even directly from the Russians).
I suspect there may be a slight overgrowth (or natural plating?) of silver in a couple areas-- in the some places the copper crystals have a distinctive silvery sheen, and I know that silver did occur in this area-- it's just that on most pieces they were tiny little dendrites, they weren't like this. Again, just a suspicion but correct or not, it's still a very nice miniature example of this material, with a centrally positioned cuprite sitting on a cluster of well formed copper crystals!
HCU07 Copper ps. Cuprite
Rubtsovskoe Cu-Zn-Pb deposit, Rudnyi Altai, Altaiskii Krai, Western-Siberian Region, Russia
7.8x 4.0x 3.0 cm
$695
Around 15-16 years ago, there was a massive discovery of world class cuprite crystals at the Rubtsovskoe Mine--they were a staple of the Russian dealers for a few years after the find-- though a couple years after the initial discovery of those more ubiquitous cuprite crystals, these really interesting copper pseudomorphs after cuprite were discovered, though they came out in much smaller numbers than the cuprites.
This one hosts a couple large octahedral pseuodos, the larger one a hopped octahedron approximately 2.6 cm on the diagonal, sitting on a mass of copper crystals, with just a little cuprite still remaining here and there.
HCU08 Topaz
Mogok, Myanmar (Burma)
5.0x 4.5x 3.4 cm
$385
A chunky, colorless, and quite gemmy topaz crystal from Burma. It's not perfect, there is damage, but you would have a hard time finding a crystal this size (from Burma) for this price....
HCU09 Rhodochrosite
Wuzhou Prefecture, Guangxi Zhuang A.R., China
4.7x 4.0x 1.6 cm
$265
A am not really a fan of Chinese rhodochrosite, but this is a fairly large and well formed crystal. Recently there have been some better finds of this material, it almost always seems to be a tradeoff between color and size/ completeness-- this one seems to be nearly complete all around (as far as I can tell) and is quite sharp. The flattened rhombohedral shape is something I'd expect more from a place like Mt. Sant Hilaire, more often than not the crystals from this area are somewhat rounded and disk-like, unless they are cleaved.
HCU10 Copper ps. Cuprite
Rubtsovskoe Cu-Zn-Pb deposit, Rudnyi Altai, Altaiskii Krai, Western-Siberian Region, Russia
2.9x 2.5 x 1.3 cm
$225
Around 15-16 years ago, there was a massive discovery of world class cuprite crystals at the Rubtsovskoe Mine--they were a staple of the Russian dealers for a few years after the find-- though a couple years after the initial discovery of those more ubiquitous cuprite crystals, these really interesting copper pseudomorphs after cuprite were discovered, though they came out in much smaller numbers than the cuprites.
This is a particularly nice little thumbnail, there is a clear octahedron completely replaced by dendritic copper delicately positioned atop a mass of tiny copper crystals.
A video can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7wZiBERxcK/
HCU11 Calcite, Quartz ps. Calcite
Dal'Negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia
11.9x 8.8x 7.3 cm
$400
For whatever reason I am often drawn to the weird rocks that few other people want, it makes for interesting posts even if buying them is not the best business decision....
This one is a stacked cluster of calcite rhombs, the sort of thing that from China would typically be referred to as a "pagoda," except the cluster has been pseudomorphed by quartz. You can see some of the rhombs near the top are open, and a couple lower down on the specimen have little holes and are actually hollow. This pseudomorphed cluster then got overgrown by a couple later generations of calcite, one honey colored scalenoherons (some have damage) and another a sort of sheetlike mass wrapping around the back/ side of the piece. The later calcites are not perfect, but I still thought this was a very unusual and interesting piece! There isn't as much from Dal'Negorsk these days as there used to be, this was a nice reminder of the very varied, weird curveballs that used to come from this mine fairly consistently since the early 90's.
HCU12 Copper ps. Cuprite
Rubtsovskoe Cu-Zn-Pb deposit, Rudnyi Altai, Altaiskii Krai, Western-Siberian Region, Russia
5.8x 3.2x 3.1 cm
$465
Around 15-16 years ago, there was a massive discovery of world class cuprite crystals at the Rubtsovskoe Mine--they were a staple of the Russian dealers for a few years after the find-- though a couple years after the initial discovery of those more ubiquitous cuprite crystals, these really interesting copper pseudomorphs after cuprite were discovered, though they came out in much smaller numbers than the cuprites.
This is a large and chunky pseudo from the discovery, you can make out the octahedral outline of the cuprite that once existed. Interestingly, the copper crystals are somewhat chunkier not his one, it's not the fine interlocking dendrites you typically see.
A video can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7wZpuqRAbO/
HCU13 Fluorite
Aksu, Xinjiang Prov., China
6.2x 5.6x 2.9 cm
$325
A nice example of fluorite from recent discoveries in Xinjiang, this one seems to have the typical muligeneratoinal growth, with a cubic core and then a stepped surface covered in small cubic overgrowths.
A video can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7wZMJwRjN5/ . It really helps to see the reflections off of all the small faces!
HCU14 Fluorite
Aksu, Xinjiang Prov., China
6.1x 4.0x 3.5 cm
$235
A nice example of fluorite from recent discoveries in Xinjiang, this one seems to have the typical muligeneratoinal growth, with a cubic core and then a stepped surface covered in small cubic overgrowths. This one has a particularly saturated color. A bit of damage on the lower left.
A video can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7wZRYyxDZa/ . It really helps to see the reflections off of all the small faces!
HCU15 Fluorite
Aksu, Xinjiang Prov., China
4.9x 3.3x 3.7 cm
$145
A nice example of fluorite from recent discoveries in Xinjiang, this one seems to have the typical muligeneratoinal growth, with a cubic core and then a stepped surface covered in small cubic overgrowths.
A video can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7wZQaCxpr8/ .It really helps to see the reflections off of all the small faces!
HCU16 Fluorite
Aksu, Xinjiang Prov., China
4.0x 3.5x 3.0 cm
$145
A nice example of fluorite from recent discoveries in Xinjiang, this one seems to have the typical muligeneratoinal growth, with a cubic core and then a stepped surface covered in small cubic overgrowths. As far as I can tell, this one is complete all around.
A video can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7wZNgrRbzn/ .It really helps to see the reflections off of all the small faces!
HCU17 Fluorite
Aksu, Xinjiang Prov., China
4.5x 3.7x 1.7 cm
$145
A nice example of fluorite from recent discoveries in Xinjiang, this one seems to have the typical muligeneratoinal growth, with an initial growth of colorless fluorite and then a stepped surface caused bysmall cubic overgrowths. Please note, taken with strong lighting so the phantoms and color pop a bit more in the pictures!
HCU18 Fluorite
Aksu, Xinjiang Prov., China
3.1x 2.55x 1.7 cm
$125
A nice example of fluorite from recent discoveries in Xinjiang, this one seems to have the typical muligeneratoinal growth, with an initial growth of colorless fluorite and then a stepped surface caused bysmall cubic overgrowths. Please note, taken with strong lighting so the phantoms and color pop a bit more in the pictures!
A video can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7wZSwDxwr8/ .It really helps to see the reflections off of all the small faces!
HCU19 Fluorite
Aksu, Xinjiang Prov., China
4.0x 3.3x 1.2 cm
$110
A nice example of fluorite from recent discoveries in Xinjiang, this one seems to have the typical muligeneratoinal growth, with an initial growth of colorless fluorite and then a stepped surface caused bysmall cubic overgrowths. Please note, taken with strong lighting so the phantoms and color pop a bit more in the pictures!
A video can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7wZPJrRwlo/ .It really helps to see the reflections off of all the small faces!
HCU21 Copper ps. Cuprite
Rubtsovskoe Cu-Zn-Pb deposit, Rudnyi Altai, Altaiskii Krai, Western-Siberian Region, Russia
2.7x 2.4x 1.6 cm
$135
Around 15-16 years ago, there was a massive discovery of world class cuprite crystals at the Rubtsovskoe Mine--they were a staple of the Russian dealers for a few years after the find-- though a couple years after the initial discovery of those more ubiquitous cuprite crystals, these really interesting copper pseudomorphs after cuprite were discovered, though they came out in much smaller numbers than the cuprites.
This is a nice thumbnail sized piece with a fairly isolated octahedral pseudomorph sitting on top of more copper.
A video can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7wZuuhRwhe/
HCU22 Copper ps. Cuprite
Rubtsovskoe Cu-Zn-Pb deposit, Rudnyi Altai, Altaiskii Krai, Western-Siberian Region, Russia
3.0x 2.3x 2.4 cm
$145
Around 15-16 years ago, there was a massive discovery of world class cuprite crystals at the Rubtsovskoe Mine--they were a staple of the Russian dealers for a few years after the find-- though a couple years after the initial discovery of those more ubiquitous cuprite crystals, these really interesting copper pseudomorphs after cuprite were discovered, though they came out in much smaller numbers than the cuprites.
This is a decent "toenail" sized example with a fairly isolated octahedral pseudomorph sitting on top of a cluster of more copper, and bits of cuprite.
A video can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7wZrW4xDM7/
HCU23 Copper ps. Cuprite
Rubtsovskoe Cu-Zn-Pb deposit, Rudnyi Altai, Altaiskii Krai, Western-Siberian Region, Russia
1.75x 1.5x 1.7 cm
$95
Around 15-16 years ago, there was a massive discovery of world class cuprite crystals at the Rubtsovskoe Mine--they were a staple of the Russian dealers for a few years after the find-- though a couple years after the initial discovery of those more ubiquitous cuprite crystals, these really interesting copper pseudomorphs after cuprite were discovered, though they came out in much smaller numbers than the cuprites.
This is a decent thumbnail-sized reference piece consisting of a rounded octahedron, completely replaced by tiny dendritic copper crystals. Not the sharpest example, but you can definitely make out the octahedron quite easily.
A video can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7wZs6KxPuV/
HCU24 Lorenzenite
Selsurt Mountain, Lovozersky District, Murmansk Oblast, Russia
5.0x 3.4x 3.2 cm
$135
A nice example of lorenzenite, from pretty much the only
location you are likely to see specimens.
This species is a reasonably rare sodium titanium silicate, it is
actually known from a handful of locations but at nearly all it just forms tiny
crystals that require strong magnification to appreciate, the main exception
being this pegmatite in a birch forest in a relatively remote part of northwestern
Russia.
I bought a batch of them just to keep, there were two that
stood out as reasonably good display specimens, at least as much as you could
hope for from this species, so I’m posting them here.
HCU25 Lorenzenite
Selsurt Mountain, Lovozersky District, Murmansk Oblast, Russia
5.1x 2.5x 2.9 cm
$125
A nice example of lorenzenite, from pretty much the only location you are likely to see specimens. This species is a reasonably rare sodium titanium silicate, it is actually known from a handful of locations but at nearly all it just forms tiny crystals that require strong magnification to appreciate, the main exception being this pegmatite in a birch forest in a relatively remote part of northwestern Russia.
I bought a batch of them just to keep, there were two that stood out as reasonably good display specimens, at least as much as you could hope for from this species, so I’m posting them here. This one has a decently sized crystal standing nicely, the termination is buried a bit under the surrounding matrix material.
