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MOVE IT OR LOSE IT !
WE ARE MOVING! I AM SO HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT AFTER NEARLY 8 YEARS IN OUR PRESENT LOCATION WE ARE MOVING AND EXPANDING INTO A BRAND NEW 10,000 SQUARE FOOT FACILITY, WITH A LARGE GALLERY (over 3000 s.f.) ,open by appointment WE WILL OFFER THE ULTIMATE MINERAL BROWSING EXPERIENCE WITH OVER 10,000 ACCESSIBLE SPECIMENS - SHOWN IN OVER 500 DRAWERS & SEVERAL HUNDRED LINEAR FEET OF LIGHTED CABINETRY. PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY, BASE-MAKING, AND PREP LAB WILL ALL BE LOCATED ON-SITE. IN THE PROCESS, WE ARE "FINDING" MANY OLD PIECES, SOME LONG POSTED ON THE WEBSITE BUT "BURIED" IN OUR WAREHOUSE - AND SO NOT TAKEN TO SHOWS OR EVEN SHOWN IN OUR OWN ONSITE GALLERY FOR YEARS. MANY PIECES HAVE BEEN HERE FOR SEVERAL YEARS OR MORE, NOT EVEN ACCESSIBLE BECAUSE WE NEEDED THE DISPLAY ROOM FOR NEW INCOMING COLLECTIONS! We will be merging these older specimens into our drawers holding 10,000 pieces for viewing, as we finally unpack and sort many collections SO.... TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO GIVE "OLD FRIENDS" NEW HOMES, we announce a SALE ON 3000 SPECIMENS posted 2006-2009 ANYTHING POSTED ON THE SITE BEFORE 2010, I WILL DISCOUNT FROM 10% TO 40% based on availability, from July 20 - August 20th PLEASE NOTE WE MAY NEED SOME TIME TO CONFIRM AVAILABILITY, AND FIND THE SPECIMENS (available subject to prior sale) sale does NOT include VAULT specimens
T07-98 - Apophyllite - £ 614 SOLD San Martin, Zacatecas, Mexico small cabinet, 9.1 x 6.4 x 3.8 cm
This matrix specimen is covered in glassy, pastel pink, crystals, of apophyllite, to 2.25 cm in length. These crystals are much more lustrous in person than they apppear, and the only damage is peripheral around the display face. Very showy! Pink apophyllite has always been VERY RARE from any locality, known fro ma small pocket in India and old 1800s-era finds in Germany. I had seen a few oldtimers from Mexico, as well. Recently, these were uncovered in quantity at a small pocket in the San Martin silver mine, and these are certainly the best pinks out of Mexico to date. Buy now, while available, because historically this has been a rare object to obtain
T06-147 - Grossular Garnet on Tanzanite - £ 1843 SOLD Merelani Mines, Arusha, Tanzania miniature, 3.5 x 2.7 x 2 cm
This superb miniature is from a rare, small find of about 6 years back. It features mint-green grossular garnets ON tanzanite matrix! The garnets are good in and of themselves, and of quite high quality for the location. The combination, though, is just unique so far as i know.
RLU11 - Tourmaline var. Indicolite - £ 1940 SOLD Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil large cabinet, 20.2 x 1.1 x 1 cm
This huge 57-gram crystal is transparent through its long length and displays beautifully like a sword of blue tourmaline! It is exceptional in length and size. It does have 3 repairs, all done very cleanly: so they do not detract visually although as a result the price is relatively low (considering the visual impact).
Tmix07-125 - Acanthite (doubly-terminated FLOATER) - £ 1778 Freiberg, Saxony, Germany miniature, 3.7 x 1.0 x 0.9 cm
This is a remarkable old specimen , pristine despite being at least 120 years old and probably more ancient than that. I am told by the German collector i exchanged it with that it is from an old museum collection broken up and dispersed 30-40 years ago. The piece is doubly-terminated, and complete all around - a floater! I have never seen for sale on old German acanthite with all these qualities to it, and it is aesthetic as well. This piece has a natural, fairly lustrous patina to it, and thankfully was never cleaned in acid!
T06-181 - Fluorite - £ 631 Wolsendorf Fluorite mining district, Schwandorf, Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, Germany cabinet, 15.6 x 9 x 2.8 cm
A remarkable large matrix plate featuring classic German yellow fluorites to just about 1 cm. This specimen is not to be confused with similar yellow fluorites from Freriberga totally different region. Note the gradation to purple color around the perimeter, contrasting the yellow nicely!
T06-182 - Augelite on Lazulite - £ 1293 Rapid Creek, Yukon, Canada miniature, 6 x 4.5 x 3.4 cm
This amazing piece features a 3 cm augelite crystal which has gotta be a record-holder or near to it, for the locality. It has a pleasing pastel green color, with orangey core. The crystal is nicely displayed front and center on well-trimmed matrix covered with sparkling deep blue lazulite crystals (better in person)! The augelite is doubly-terminated, 3-dimensional, and complete except for a slight contact on the left edge that is, in context, trivial. For the sheer size and the display aesthetics, I think this is a major specimen for both species and locality!
4MB1 - RUTILE - £ 61 SOLD STONY POINT, NORTH CAROLINA thumbnail, 2.5 X 1 X .2 cm
Excellent 2.4 cm striated crystal with mirror luster and deep red color. Attached 1.3 cm elbow twin makes the specimen even more dramatic and desirable.
NEX20 - Fluorite (2 habits!) - £ 1293 "Llisu" pocket in the area of Ana mine called La Cabaņa , Berbes, Asturias, Spain miniature, 5.2 x 3.7 x 3.1 cm
This is one of the finest and most unique fluorite groups I have seen from Berbes. A transparent, lustrous, lilac cube, to 2.5 cm across, exhibits deep purple color zoning in the center of the crystal. This is pretty damned good already! The color and zoning are sharp and rare ! Moreover, associated with the cube is a 3.0 crystal of different habit: cubic highly modified by the octahedron. This crystal also is lustrous, slightly deeper purple, and translucent. Outstanding, in every way!
D06-135 - Wulfenite - £ 1617 Toussit Mine, Atlas Mountains, Morocco cabinet, 16.1 x 12.1 x 4.7 cm ex. Tom and Mellissa Gressman
A rare, huge plate, featuring butterscotch-colored, platy crystals to over an inch in size! This old material is incredibly hard to obtain in any sizeable specimen, and nothing like it has been found here in 20 years or more. The crystals combine two syles. Some are very sharp squared blades with beveled edges, as you see with Arizona wulfenite for example. The other style are large, flanged crystals with irregular edges, that look more organic than anything, and reach 3 cm in size. The juxtaposition of the two styles is striking!
T06-132 - Aquamarine with unusual tapered termination - £ 1584 SOLD near Alchuri, Shigar Valley, Gilgit, Pakistan cabinet, 11.7 x 1.9 x 1.4 cm
This specimen is from a pocket found in the fall of last year, where they all tapered in a smooth curve to a truncated point, like this one. However, this is the biggest intact example of a single crystal I have yet seen from the find. It is very unique, in its aesthetics. Complete and fully terminated all around!
CMI19 - Cavansite on Stilbite - £ 1617 SOLD Wagholi Quarry, near Poona, Maharashtra, India small cabinet, 8.9 x 7.5 x 4.8 cm
Simply stated, this is a superior specimen! An elegant, curving cluster of cavansite balls, displaying the deepest royal blue color and almost iridescent luster, has grown across drusy, tan stilbite crystals. The largest ball of cavansite is over 2 cm across. In addition, the base of the specimen has a group of lustrous, doubly terminated stilbite crystals, to 1.5 cm. The color contrast of minerals and the 7 cm long, linear cluster of cavansite, easily make this specimen very desirable and FAR above the crowd.
D06-110 - Rhodochrosite - £ 582 N'Chwaning II Mine, Kalahari Fields, Northern Cape Province, South Africa thumbnail, 2.2 x 1.2 x 1.0 cm ex. John and Linda Stimson
A beautiful specimen but also....A cutter! All gem rough! This piece has intrinsic value as a cutter, obviously. Pristine except for a small cleave atop, as almost all of these large rhodos have.
RLU1 - Aquamarine on Albite - £ 1843 Shigar, Baltistan, Pakistan cabinet, 9.4 x 7.9 x 5.6 cm
A REALLY STRANGE, matrix, unrepaired aquamarine that looks as if it is about to rocket off the matrix from its connecting stalk of aqua-fire. This whole crystal, solution-etched uncharacteristically from the bottom up to form a tapered crystal in the reverse of the usual habit, is complete all around. It is very gemmy and the micro-faces on the sides give it a real sparkly look. The termination is lustrous, glassy, and complete. You can display this a number of ways to look at either the whole ethereal crystal, or to stare down through the termination, through the narrowing stalk of aquamarine, to the matrix beneath: literally, you can see almost ALL THE WAY DOWN through the 3-inch crystal to its insertion point in the matrix ! it actually pokes through and comes out the other side, about 1 cm in diameter at that point. And this confuses the heck out of me. How could it etch out in such a way, tapering from the bottom up, if the very bottom is embedded in matrix?! Maybe the albite grew simultaneously, enclosing the crystal as it formed in solution? VERY STRANGE, in any case!
3D53 - Epidote (dt) - £ 55 Bellecomb, Chatillon, Aosta Valley, Italy thumbnail, 2.5 x .4 x .4 cm ex. Marilyn Dodge
Sharp doubly-terminated Epidote with good deep-green color and excellent luster. Way above average for the locality, and comparable to most Epidotes from Pakistan these days. As well, this is a doubly-terminated floater and so highly unusual!
T06-85 - Rhodochrosite - £ 1778 N'Chwaning Mine, Kalahari, South Africa miniature, 3.3 x 2.1 x 1.5 cm
This gorgeous specimen shows off the brillliant, lustrous, vividly colorful "cherry pocket" color that came out after the darker, more slender scalenohedral crystals considered most classical for the mine. This style, however, is probalby more "beautiful" in sheer pizzazz and color splash terms. The piece glows with color. The pics can barely convey it, though they are quite good. As with most such large rhodo crystals from this mine, we have the inevitable problem of tip cleaves. There is a VERY slight cleave from the back-forward at the tip of teh longer crystal. The shorter, fatter crystal shows a cleave at its tip that would have happenned in the pocket, and over which the longer crystal clearly grew later in crystal formation. So, its a natural, rehealed cleave in my book and certainly does not detract visually in any case. This is one of the most gorgeous rhodo mini's I have seen, for under a crazy price in years!
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