A simply dazzling cluster of brilliantly metallic crystals, that set the standard for the species in the past and are still ahrd to beat for lustre, even by new material from China (albeit, of different crystal habits). This solid mass is composed of many, splendent, silver-gray, slightly rounded, crystals of arsenopyrite, to 2.5 cm across. The arrangement of crystals is shows stepped growth, resulting in many faces to reflect light from. Bright! This is classic old material, seldom seen in such quality and just outstanding for the species even to my eyes, spoiled as they are with the recent glut of Chinese arsenopyrites

This unusual matrix specimen is almost equal parts of fluorite interspersed with amethyst - a combination i have not seen before from Naica in any quality for both species at the same time! the fluorite is present as exceptionally glassy and gemmy cuboctahedrons , slightly pastel-green, to 1.5 cm across - better in person as they are so clear it is hard to photograph them and keep the whole piece in focus. The amethysts are elegant, slender crystals, to 2.8 cm in length; and are both lustrous and translucent. Additionally, there are a few, splendent, black sphalerite crystals in the center of the specimen as accent. Dramatic and fine , very unusual combo piece ! In fact, amethyst with fluorite from ANY locale is very rare

These classic green pyros are the standard for Mexico, where the species seems quite rare. This is from a famous find of the early 1970s, I am told. Glassy and translucent, apple green pyromorphite crystals, to 5 mm in length, abound on a matrix of ocherous limonite. The crystals are so translucent that they are nearly gemmy. A wonderful large thumbnail or small miniature!

Garnet is rare for Naica, and there seem to have been few fine specimens that are primarily garnet. I have not seen many, in any case. This piece shows off fine upright crystal clusters, to 2.8 cm in length, of lustrous, shimmering olive-green andradite garnet. A few, small, colorless calcite crystals are present deep in the crevasse of garnet here. It is a beautiful specimen and a Naica rarity. Sawed on the back to trim it out, in olden times, this was from the Consie Prince collection (Houston, Texas), then the Dave Stoudt collection.

how is this for a bizarre combo piece?! Spherical aggregates of satin-luster, translucent, rich pink rhodochrosite are aesthetically balanced with a rosette of pearlescent, see-through gypsum crystals to 3 cm across.This is an absolutely captivating and enchanting combo specimen that possesses a wonderful contrast of colors and forms. We had not seen anything like it from Mexico

This is a way beyond normal quality, stunning example of intergrown, splendent, silvery-white crystals of arsenopyrite. They reach to 4.5 cm in length. As it so happened, most of the crystals are also doubly terminated and this is just one of the finest arsenopyrite miniatures I can imagine, competing even with the best of Chinese material which has come out in abundance in recent years. There is a subtle curvature to the crystals in this specimen, and a sharper point at the termination, that together makes it stand out from Chinese material

We see very little good stibnite from Mexico, and almost nothing with "style" and aesthetics. This piece, though, has both. Stacked poker-chip aggregates in parallel growth of gray but lustrous calcite, to 2.9 cm in length, are the natural pedestal for a diverging cluster of splendent, dark gray crystals of stibnite, to 5 cm in length. This combination of species makes the piece more aesthetic than others I have seen, and we believe this to be a fairly significant locality specimen.

Four species on one specimen , with style! Here we have elongated crystals, to 2.8 cm in length, of finely crystallized, splendent, brassy yellow pyrite which have pseudomorphed (replaced) elongated pyrrhotite crystals. though the form is unusual, both the form for pyrrhotite and this replacement is well documented at this locale, and considered an old classic find. These are perched, along with lustrous black crystals of sphalerite to 3 cm across, on milky, translucent quartz crystals to 4 cm in length. All are of high quality and stick out in different directions like they were stuck into a pincushion, making this a very 3-dimensional specimen.

A superb small cabinet piece from the 2006 finds here, one which I sold at the time. The specimen is notable for its display qualities, and the rich contrasting association to the jet black sphalerite. Three crystals of lustrous and gemmy , nearly colorless fluorite to 3 cm across, are aesthetically perched high on a matrix of intergrown clusters of lustrous, metallic sphalerite (along with minor galena and chalcopyrite). The sphalerite is complexly crystallized form smaller crystals, and so throws off a lot of reflections in person, complementing the transparent fluorites above - through which the light just flies on through. The largest fluorite crystal exhibits a green color center although their "bodies" are colorless. Although not in the Heck collection of Mexican minerals as are most others in this update, this piece is from the Stoudt collection which I also recently acquired, and so fit well within the larger update. Out of hundreds and hundreds of pieces I handled (i bought entire lots direct at the mine, in this time), this was one of my favorites of the lot and i recommended it to one of my closest friends and collectors at the time, because of that reason. I stand by it today...such a quality has not been found since, and for my personal taste this remains one of the very finest of the find in its size range.

The shape of this twinned calcite crystal is simply sexy: the combination of sharp pseudotriangular termination , penetration twinning, gemminess, and phantoms is totally unique to this day. This is an exceptional, and impressive, large twinned crysatl that is glassy , gemmy and colorless. Unlike most of the English butterfly twins which are robust and thickly 3-dimensional in general, this twin does not extend into a 3rd axis, being no thicker than 2 cm , along its very flat front and back sides. Although there are really fascinating vertical striations on the front and back, there are not protuberances sticking out in all directions as you'd expect for most twins. It is aligned vertically. All similar crystals I have seen from this old find were similarly formed. For that matter, I'm not sure that I have seen another calcite twin quite like this one from ANY other locale but this old classic find (I know they were found in the "old days" but not exactly when. They do turn up only in museums and old collections, it seems; and quite a few went into the Smithsonian and then were used to trade out for other minerals in the mid-1900s). This one turned up in an old collection in California in the late 1990s, and I kept it in my personal calcite collection which I had built til that time. I then sold it into the Stoudt collection of Mexican minerals in 2005. Although not in the Heck collection of Mexican minerals as are most others in this update, this piece is from the Stoudt collection which I also recently acquired, and so fit well with the larger Mexican themed update. Small ones turn up time to time. I have only seldom seen one so good, so big, and in this condition. comes with custom lucite display base. Joe Budd Photos.