Mixed Specimens- Aquamarine, Manganotantalite, Kunzite, Apatite.

Mixed Pakistani Specimens

In addition to the lots I purchased, I spent many hours sorting through specimens to find the few good pieces. On one occasion I spent over 2 hours in one shop, only for the deal to fall through at the last second (grrr....) Luckily that incident proved to be the exception, rather than the rule, and I was able to procure a number of high-end specimens. Here are some of the individual pieces that I selected.

MCA1 Beryl var. Aquamarine

Shigar Valley, Baltistan, Pakistan

13.0x 10.5x 10.0 cm

$1450

A stunning Pakistani aqua, with a mostly flawless, water-clear crystal rising dramatically from its matrix. The crystal has very good color. This xtl is from a pocket that was discovered in October of 2005. Compared to other pieces from this find, the price is quite good.

MCA1 Beryl var. Aquamarine

Shigar Valley, Baltistan, Pakistan

6.4x 5.2x 4.3 cm

$1350

A very aesthetic aquamarine perched on a cluster of cleavlandite balls. The crystal shows good transparency for a matrix specimen--most aquamarines of this size are nearly opaque.

MCA3 Beryl var. Aquamarine

Gilgit, Northern Areas, Pakistan

6.3x 4.5x 4.0 cm.

$225

A tabular aquamarine nestled in cleavlandite, showing very good color. Pakistani tablular aquamarines first hit the market a few years ago, but were all heavily damaged. This is the best one I have seen so far, both in terms of color, and overall aesthetics.

APO1 Apatite on Orthoclase

Skardu Road, Northern Areas, Pakistan

5.9x 4.8x 4.0 cm

$165

Two pink, hexagonal apatite crystals perched on a cluster of orthoclase crystals.

MATKN1 Spodumene var. Kuzite

Pech, Kunnar, Afghanistan

6.7x 4.6x 4.6 cm

$475

Here's something different: a matrix kunzite--an ACTUAL kunzite, not that colorless stuff. The crystal is double terminated, and etched. What makes this piece interesting is that you can see the outline of the crystal prior to being etched, in the form of an indentation on the matrix. There is no damage, although the matrix has been sawn up a little bit (not uncommon for Afghan pieces)

PG14 Pargasite

Near Aliabad, Hunza Valley, Northern Areas, Pakistan.

6.5x 4.8x 3.5 cm

$365

This is one of the largest pargasite crystals I have seen. It is a partial crystal (like the majority of Hunza pargasites), but it shows exceptional faces and measures a whopping 3.3 cm in length.

This locality is now closed. During my trip I was only able to find a few very small and poor quality specimens (I acquired this one in the United States prior to leaving) and Luc Yen, Vietnam has not produced crystals even close to this size.

PSEL1 Selenite

Skardu, Northern Areas, Pakistan

24.3x 17.7x 11.8 cm

$385

Selenite is by no means rare--but when was the last time you saw one from Pakistan? Here is a very beautiful large cabinet specimen, with a completely clear crystal rising from a matrix of more selenite. In the matrix, there is a large V-twin, visible in the photographs. A very unusual specimen for the area, and quite aesthetic.

This piece is NOT damaged--the white circle on the side of the crystal is etching.

LALAZ1 Lazulite

Lalia Base Camp, Gilgit, Pakistan

3.4x 2.8x 1.8 cm

$245

I almost missed this piece, it was tucked away behind a dealer's counter, surrounded by "Gilgit trash". This is a VERY rare, terminated partial crystal of green Pakistani lazulite. As far as I know, there is only one other (of comparable size, not even on matrix) on the internet market, and the price tag is above $2000. What is more, this piece is on matrix--EXTREMELY unusual for this material.

ELB2 Elbaite, Topaz, Cleavlandite

Stak Nala, Gilgit, Pakistan

5.0x 2.1x 1.5 cm

$85

A damage free, green capped elbaite crystal rising out of a cleavlandite ball. There is a small topaz crystal nestled next to the elbaite.

ELB3 Elbaite, Cleavlandite

Stak Nala, Gilgit, Pakistan

5.3x 3.5x 2.5 cm

$88

Two elbaite crystals rising out of a cleavlandite ball. The elbaites all have thin green bands near their terminations.

ELB4 Elbaite, Topaz, Cleavlandite

Stak Nala, Gilgit, Pakistan

10.5x 8.5x 4.9 cm

$155

A cabinet specimen of quartz, with numerous dark green (they look black in the pictures) elbaite crystals.

PSKT4 Tourmaline var. Schorl, Albite

Skardu Road, Gilgit, Pakistan

9.5x 7.3x 6.5 cm

$145

A very nice cabinet schorl. So schorl is not rare, and it's the ugly child in the tourmaline family ... But I do think this one is quite nice.

BERY1 Beryllonite

Skardu, Northern Areas, Pakistan

3.2x 2.3x 2.3 cm

A double terminated xtl of this very rare beryllium species.

PAKP3 Pollucite

Skardu, Northern Areas, Pakistan

6.0x 4.0x 2.6 cm

$145

A damage free pollucite crystal showing good faces. As usual, this crystal does have the rough, melted look, the result of etching. A very nice (and well priced) specimen of this rare cesium mineral. It looks like a piece of half-melted ice...

ESPOD1 Spodumene var. Triphane

Gilgit, Pakistan

2.9x 2.6x 1.9 cm

$68

A very interesting thumbnail, consisting of a VERY etched, zig-zagy cluster of spodumene crystals. There is even a naturally formed hole through its center.