New Mineral Updates

Official PayPal Seal    
Join Our Mailing List
Email:
For Email Marketing you can trust

HUGE MOVING SALE NOW RUNNING !
from July 20 - August 20th
...SCROLL DOWN !

NOW AVAILABLE: iRocks.com now has RSS FEED - click here !

"THE VAULT!"


This is a special section of the website dedicated to very significant, admittedly pricier, specimens, placed in context. Please click here for a more full explanation and for some comments on high-end minerals as investments.

NEW MINERAL BOOK PUBLICATION!
Classic Minerals of Northern England:
The Lindsay Greenbank Collection


Softcover, 148 pages, Published by Mineralogical Record Press.
I am very proud to announce that I have helped to publish and finance a book on this prestigious locality-based collection, much of which we purchased in 2008. Stay tuned for specimens for sale, online, in April.

Please CLICK HERE TO ORDER directly from the publisher, The Mineralogical Record's website.
A note about our size measurements: (click here).


NEW FINDS, COLLECTIONS, & UPDATES !:
stay tuned for more Mixed minerals, Special Auctions, and more...!

ACQUIRED! THE HOWARD BELSKY collection (over 2000 pieces!)...
Paterson Museum Langban Collection , & Larry Krauss Collections

GIANT MOVING SALE on all older specimens !:
JULY 21
Our First Ever GIANT MOVING SALE !
We are moving, and all old items on the site, that we can find, will be for sale until Aug. 20th!
Please inquire for offers of 10-40% off selected specimens from prior to 2010
PURPLE QUARTZ from South Africa:
MAY 27
A new find from 2009 of strange purple quartz balls, from the newly opened N'Chwaning III Mine.
TUCSON 2010 SHOW (Part IV)& other acquisitions : 99 NEW SPECIMENS !
MAY 27
A huge variety of new specimens priced from $100 to $10,000 mostly, with both rare species and common beauties in all price and size ranges.
CLASSIC MINERALS OF NORTHERN ENGLAND:
MAY 20
THE LINDSAY GREENBANK COLLECTION: Classic Minerals of Northern England
This update includes the first half of the specimens to be posted, with another 60-70 to follow this summer.
Old find of Niobium-rich RUTILE from Inyo County, California:
MAY 18
This page features a small group of interesting rutile specimens found by geologist and field collector Bob Raduenz in the mid 1960s, at a site not revealed (or found again by others) since. I obtained these specimens from him recently, and was told they were among the better examples found. Analysis shows a high niobium content (by weight, nearly 25%).
THUMBNAILS & MINIATURES from the MARTIN LEWADNY COLLECTION:
APRIL 14, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Now posted: A very diverse mix of classics, all selected with an eye to aesthetics and condition. Specializing in thumbnails and miniatures, and priced from $75-2750.
DIAMONDS from AUSTRALIA:
March 25, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Sharp, floater octohedrons from the Argyll Mine at approx. $300/carat.
MIXED TUCSON UPDATE #3!
March 25, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
MIXED MINERALS from TUCSON shows:
70 specimens, including NEW FINDS and OLD CLASSICS!
OLD FIND! - KLEINITE from Nevada:
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Large specimens of KLEINITE, a very rare mercury halide
NEW UPDATE! - GARNET - NEW FINDS FROM MADAGASCAR:
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Now posted, a selection of 46 specimens from this major find of 2009, along with text excerpted from Dr. Federico Pezzotta's Tucson lecture on the locality. ALL SPECIMENS WERE HAND-SELECTED FOR ME AT THE MINES, AND ARE (UNLIKE MOST) GENERALLY PRISTINE AND FREE OF DAMAGE!
SHATTUCKITE and other Minerals: from the Kaokoveld and Erongo regions, Namibia
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Including pieces from the Charlie Key collection.
MIXED TUCSON UPDATE #2!
MIXED MINERALS from TUCSON shows:
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
40 specimens, including SILVERS, GEM CRYSTALS, & MANY RARE SPECIES from OLD EUROPEAN COLLECTIONS !
NEW UPDATE! - ROSASITE from the OJUELA MINE, MEXICO!
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Now posted, a selection of 20 top specimens from a small pocket found in January 2010, of thick , velvety blue rosasite. Some exist as minute inclusions in sparkling small calcite crystals, the result very attractive.
NEW UPDATE! - COPPER twins, from the old Champion Mine in Michigan!
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Old Material, Collected prior to the 1960s
TUCSON UPDATE #1!
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
50 specimens, including new finds and old classics, now posted here!
NEW UPDATE! - GREEN MIMETITE & ROSASITE from the OJUELA MINE, MEXICO!
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Now posted, a selection of approx. 40 top specimens from small pockets found in 2008 and 2009, of beautiful, uniquely deep green mimetite for this classic locality. MUCH BETTER IN PERSON, these are vibrant, thick, velvety layers of mimetite crystals, many with wulfenite association. Also here are a few deep blue rosasites from a fall 2009 pocket.
GEM THUMBNAILS from MAINE & Kalahari Manganese Field minerals from the Sacco Collection
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Right before the Tucson show, I was lucky enough to purchase two lots of fine locality specimens (mostly thumbnails of high quality): one group from the Maine locality suite of collector Jim Mann; and the second an assortment from the Kalahari and Namibian collections of Desmond Sacco.
DIOPTASE from KAOKOVELD, NAMIBIA!
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
40 new specimens posted: AQUAMARINE from NAMIBIA !...
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
from a recent pocket of intense blue AQUAMARINE from NAMIBIA, with feldspar and schorl associations!
New find of uniquely crystallized OLMIITE from the KALAHARI MANGANESE FIELDS !
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
A new pocket found in the fall of 2009, of uniquely isolated, sharp, squarish crystals of this beautiful rare species.
ETTRINGITE - new large yellow crystals from the Kalahari Manganese Field, many on matrix !
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Intense green EMERALD CRYSTALS from Zambia!
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
SMITHSONITE (green Cuprian) from the 79 Mine in ARIZONA !
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
WULFENITE - new large yellow crystals from Namibia !
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
GOLD !
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
A small update of 22 mostly heavy, aesthetic gold nuggets as well as a few surprising large crystals from many different locations.
Gibbsite from China: New Find !
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
This past summer I was offered a small lot of approximately 50 specimens of unusual, lightweight, alunimum-rich gibbsite specimens from China. I picked the best dozen and a half, presented here
NEW FEATURE!: Rare Cut Gemstones !
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Now posted, a selection of over 100 rare cut gems, mostly from the old dealer stock of a friend in the gem trade for some 50 years. MANY unusual items here!
THE JOSEF VAJDAK COLLECTION OF RADIOACTIVE SYSTEMATICS (NOTE: this has now SOLD to a museum)
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
...with a core suite specializing in the rare uranium Mineralogy of Pribram, Czech Republic. Offered for sale, on behalf of the owner, as a collection only.
3 dozen specimens posted FOR SALE from... THE MIGUEL ROMERO SANCHEZ COLLECTION of MEXICAN MINERALS
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
In this gallery, we have posted extensive information about this seminal collection, as well as specimens for sale which have been put away, since 2008, for this update.
NEON-RED TOURMALINE from Brazil!
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
In October, a small pocket of these unusually etched, cityscape-like, intensely colored tourmalines was found at the old Cruzeiro Mine. I am told by several sources that very few pieces came out, perhaps only half a dozen. Only 4 were available at the Munich Show, of which I picked up these three.
NEW FIND of CELESTITE from South Africa!
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Celestite is a rare species from the Kalahari Manganese Fields, and these are the best we have yet seen come out, over several decades.
NEW FIND of PHENAKITE GEM CRYSTALS!
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Selections from a small new pocket discovered in August, 2009 of gem-quality PHENAKITE crystals from JOS PLATEAU, NIGERI
SAN DIEGO COUNTY COLLECTION:
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
The long-delayed third and final installment in our posting of the expansive San Diego county collection assembled between the late 1970s and 2005 by William Larson and Ed Swoboda, for the company showroom of The Collector store in Fallbrook, California. 70 NEW SPECIMENS added!
NEW FIND of intense orange CREEDITE from Mexico!
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
over 50 specimens, a wide variety from $100-up, now posted
selections from the ROBERT WHITMORE COLLECTION of East Coast and Worldwide Classics:
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Bob Whitmore is one of the most prominent East Coast field collectors of his generation, specializing in North-East United States classics for 50 years. He also maintained small worldwide and broader US Classics collections built through trade and occasional purchase. 46 specimens from the collection, now posted!
ED DAVID COLLECTION:
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Selections from the 1000 specimens I obtained from the famous collection of Dr. Ed David of New Jersey - recently updated!
JOHN WHITE MINERAL COLLECTION OF RARE SPECIES & LOCALES:
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
John White lived in Seattle, Washington, and spent decades building an extensive collection of minerals including large suites of rarities and locality pieces. A HUGE MIX OF VERY UNUSUAL SPECIMENS IN THIS UPDATE: MOST PRICED BELOW $500!
SAN DIEGO COUNTY COLLECTION:
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
A long-delayed second installment in the update of the expansive San Diego county collection assembled between the late 1970s and 2005 by William Larson and Ed Swoboda, for the company showroom of The Collector store in Fallbrook, California.
APATITE: Sapo Mine, 2007 find
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
A small stash of 10 fine apatite specimens put away when they came out, in mid-2007. Although the mine has continued to produce since then, this particular style and habit has not been seen come out in some time now.
BABINGTONITE from China
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Amazing, high quality babingtonites from this locality, of literally unprecedented size and richness, have redefined what the collector can own for this species. When they first came out 2 years ago, they were very high priced, in line with babingtonite specimens from historic Connecticut and Massachusetts locales. However more have been mined since and prices have come down a bit. I recently obtained a large lot of nicer quality pieces at a VERY low price that I am trying to pass on, here...
HERDERITE: New Find
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Good purple herderites on matrix have been a thing of distant memory since the famous finds in this valley in the late 1970s. A friend in Brazil sent these up to me, from a recent find - 3 nice matrix pieces, all priced (I think, surprisingly) reasonably at under $2000. The miners down there perhaps haven't seen any in decades to judge value from, so the prices I paid were also very reasonable.
VANADINITE - NEW POCKET!
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
A surprising pocket of Vanadinite from a new mine near the old ACF Mine workings, with robust geometric, cogwheel-like and flowery crystal habits - we bought the entire pocket (approix. 400 good pieces and another 500 lesser) and cherrypicked out many of the best specimens for update. In person, these are very much more robust, and show unusual forms, compared to most previous finds in this area.
DAVIDITE from a legendary 1970s find!:
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
From the drawer of a museum where they have sat for 30-plus years, the rumoured HUGE davidite crystals found in the 1970s in Zambia...
CHINESE FLUORITE COLLECTION of SHANGBAO AND YAOGANGXIAN FINDS from 1997-2009!:
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
This update represents picks from dozens of pockets over a decade, thus, and not any one find. For the new Shangbao pieces, a premium should be attached to those specimens on the good dolomite crystals, which makes this find stand out.
MINERALS as ART!
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
A selection of about a dozen mixed specimens (priced $2000-$35,000) chosen for their aesthetics to be painted by internationally known wildlife artist Gamini Ratnavira. Original paintings are included.
Deaccessions from the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences!
January 1, 2010 08:00:00 CDT
Over 200 specimens from this treasure trove of antique specimens!


ALPHABETICAL LINKS BY SPECIES!:

THIS LINK WILL TAKE YOU TO AN ALPHABETICAL LIST BY SPECIES, MIRRORING THE CONTENTS OF THE SEARCH ENGINE IN LIST FORM.


CUSTOM LUCITE BASEMAKING SERVICE !
...fast turnaround!

Obtain a custom lucite base hand-carved to solidly and safely display any specimen:

Our plastics lab can make you custom specimen display bases to better show, and more safely display, your collection.
This includes name-engraving upon the front.

Click here for an example, and Click here for a Base Price Guide



Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com

All Content and Design ©1996-2010 The Arkenstone

By-species Galleries