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SS2 - Rose Quartz - £ 162 SOLD Alta da Pitora, Minas Gerais, Brazil miniature, 3.9 x 3.4 x 1.5 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale
Also from the collection of Steve Smale is this wonderful miniature of rose quartz, with individual crystals to 1 cm in length. It appears to be a floater with no points of attachment. The piece exhibits a flower-like arrangement with a delicate light pink color and moderate luster.
SS4 - Herderite - £ 485 SOLD Xanda Mine, Virgem da Lapa, Minas Gerais, Brazil miniature, 3.7 x 2.8 x 2.5 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale
In the late 1970’s a marvelous find of gem minerals was made at Virgem da Lapa, including the world’s finest herderites. This specimen features a 2.6 cm long, translucent, blue- gray, gemmy and lustrous herderite with tiny green elbaites and pink lepidolite crystals. It is a very attractive miniature and has a definitively more blue hue to it than the generally purplish ones for which the mine is famous. It is complete all around save for a few very trivial contacts. He got it in Brazil himself, while teaching math in Rio.
SS5 - Rose Quartz - £ 191 SOLD Alta da Pitora, Minas Gerais, Brazil miniature, 3.6 x 3.3 x 2.5 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale
This extremely aesthetic rosette of rose quartz formed around a core of milky quartz. The light pink color, gemminess, and super luster are enhanced by many crystals, 1 cm long. This is a fine example of the eye for quality in minerals exhibited by Steve Smale.
SS15 - Benitoite, Neptunite - £ 1681 Gem Mine, San Benito Co., California, USA miniature, 5.7 x 3.3 x 2 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale
RAZOR SHARP XLS!!! Perfectly balanced, this aesthetic combination specimen of lustrous, blue benitoite crystals and a black, crystal of superbly lustered, neptunite, represents the very best of this unique deposit - now, forever closed. The largest benitoite is 1.5 cm in length and the neptunite is 1.75 cm in length. Oh, by the way, these crystals are perched on white natrolite for stunning contrast. The color of the blue benitoite is top tier, and the lustre of both species is very high. In person, you can see why Steve bought this and stored it - it is extremely fine, just that extra bit sharper and more beautiful, than most. It is a top tier miniature for him and for anybody.
SS20 - Rose Quartz - £ 485 Alta da Pitora, Minas Gerais, Brazil miniature, 5 x 4.9 x 3.1 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale
White crystals of albite form the contrasting matrix for this specimen of rose quartz. The rich pink color of rose quartz in a floral pattern has crystals that reach 2 .0 cm in length.
SS21 - Aquamarine - £ 1293 Muguri Mine, Teofilo Otoni Elawar, Minas Gerais, Brazil small cabinet, 8.2 x 2.3 x 1.5 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale
Mined in July of 1981, this light blue-green, slightly etched, transparent and lustrous aqua, is truly oustanding for the locality and for Brazil in general. It exhibits both a pyramid and a pinacoid at the termination, which is exquisitely formed and glassy. Note the dramatic slanted faces on the termination, shown. There is only very minor contact or perhaps a small damage at/near the termination on the right side of the crystal, but otherwise it is pristine. In person, this piece has a really bright and cherry glowing color to it that is hard to convey in photos!
SS22 - Scheelite - £ 1455 Mt Xuebaoding, Ping Wu, Sichuan Province, China small cabinet, 5.9 x 5.3 x 2.4 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale
Translucent, extremely lustrous, rich orange, pseudo-octahedral crystals of scheelite, are intergrown, forming an aesthetic specimen. All terminations are present, rarely seen in these beautiful scheelites from China. The largest crystal measures 3.5 cm across. The piece is actually a floater: completely crysatllized, if irregular in growth, even on the backside!
SS23 - Rose Quartz - £ 3880 SOLD Alta da Pitora, Minas Gerais, Brazil small cabinet, 8 x 4.8 x 4.4 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale
This is another pink specimen of richly colored, lustrous, rose quartz that looks very much like a flower. What makes it extra special is not just the intensity and color, though: rather, the largest crystal measures almost 4 cm in length. The color intensity is unreal, just phenomenal, among the best I have ever seen in Rose Quartz. This piece also has crystals that are HUGE for a rose quartz, where for some reason large crystals are rarely formed. In person, you would agree that this is WAY ABOVE par and highly unusual, and highly attractive. It IS worth the extra cost, compared to others here, although its hard to convey in photos.
SS24 - Azurite - £ 1261 Touissit Mine, Ouijda, Morocco small cabinet, 5.5 x 4.1 x 1.6 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale
This azurite crystal, in the form of a broad spear point, exhibits electric blue highlights, lustre, and numerous step faces on both sides of the of the crystal. It is a magnificent crystal with only one minor ding/contact on the left edge - otherwise, it is pristine. It was mined in 1985 according to Steve.
SS28 - Brazilianite on Muscovite - £ 2910 Corrego Frio, Minas Gerais, Brazil miniature, 4.9 x 4.3 x 2 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale
This specimen came out in the 1940’s when the species was first identified and named brazilianite. Muscovite at the base of the piece makes this a rare matrix specimen, of which few survive today, let alone on the open market. The rich greenish-yellow color, high luster, transparency, and 3-dimensional completeness of this crystal combine to make this a significant brazilianite specimen worthy of any collection. It is pristine and complete all around, save for only a few trivial dings on rear edges and one small ding on a minor frontal edge, not affecting the display view, and for a smooth contact on the right side (again, not affecting the display view). It has one vertical repair, with a seamless junction, that I did not even realize was present until Steve told me so...it is there, but doesn't detract visually, in other words (and i did lower the price accordingly). Brazilianites of this completeness, and aesthetics, from the original finds get more uncommon every year. I buy every good one I can lay hands on.
SS29 - Tourmaline (with core altering to lepidolite) - £ 1196 Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil cabinet, 10 x 1.8 x 1.4 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale
This gemmy, lustrous, deep green elbaite is from the richly productive Pederneira pegmatite. The main single crystal is flanked by smaller gemmy, green, elbaite crystals. The central 2/3 of the major crystal in particular are very gemmy, though the top is darker and not so translucent. The termination is superb, and extremely sharp and lustrous, making amends for the dark color there. All in all, a fine tourmaline. However, there is an added bit of interest at the base where the bottom portion internal to the crystal has started to alter into lepidolite! This crystal is caught in the process of becoming a lepidolite pseudomorph after tourmaline, in the early stages, and you can see here how it must occur from the ground up, with the outer casing of tourmaline shedding along the way after the inside changes over time somehow.
SS42 - Anglesite - £ 614 Touissit Mine, Ouijda, Morocco miniature, 4.2 x 4 x 3 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale
This water clear, lustrous, light golden, anglesite crystal sits on a matrix of corroded galena and anglesite. The crystal is right at 2.5 cm in length. Classic old material from the late 1970s!p>
SS31 - Spodumene (floater) - £ 1940 Resplendor, Minas Gerais, Brazil small cabinet, 8.6 x 5.2 x 4.1 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale
SS32 - Gold - £ 226 Mina Zapata, Santa Elena de Uairen, Venezuela thumbnail, 1.5 x 1 x 0.5 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale
This gold crystal is characterized by rounded faces and hopper growth of a large octohedral crystal, with great luster.
SS33 - Gold - £ 81 SOLD Mina Zapata, Santa de Elena de Uairen, Venezuela thumbnail, 1.3 x 1 x 0.1 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale
This is a flattened gold crystal with rich color and luster.
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