Zircon #ZIR0004 Sister's Creek, Boat Harbour, Tasmania, Australia 8.2 x 7.1 x 9.2 mm / 7.1 cts $55 SOLD
Description:	This zircon has a lovely orange-amber color, typical of the zircons from this not-so-well-known place.  I had one of these last year which was not as deeply colored, and when I saw this one I knew it was a special little crystal.  Good luster and rectangular form on the c-axis with a tedrahedral termination.

Rhodochrosite #RHC0007 Hotazel Mine, Kalahari Manganese Fields, South Africa 20.5 x 14.1 x 9.9mm / 19.1 cts $200 SOLD
Description:	Another of Mother Nature's wonders!  This specimen is very unique, it appears to be a second growth of rhodochrosite over an existing rounded crystal surface.  The color is killer, deep red with a hint of orange.  Dozens of gorgeous parallel crystal faces all around!  Just look at the pics!  This is a fantastic thumbnail ... calling all rhodo collectors, come and get it!

Spodumene #SPD0001 Kunar Valley, Kunar Province, Afghanistan 43.3 x 17.5 x 6.9mm / 58 cts $65 Order this Specimen
Description:	You know, colorless spodumene just doesn't get a lot of new coverage as of late.  Seriously though, you see a lot of kunzite and "so-called" hiddenite from Pakistan and Afghanistan, so it's nice to see something a little different.  This is a sharp, colorless double terminated crystal with a wedge-like termination on one end, and the crystal shows a more etched termination on the other end with some broader, flat faces.  A nice crystal for the price.

Topaz var. "Rose" Imperial #TPZ0006 Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil 8.2 carats $120 SOLD
Description:	This is one gem of a crystal!  A very sharp prismatic Imperial topaz, of a rose-red color.  The crystal is gemmy, lustrous, and has a superb termination comprised of hundreds of tiny parallel surfaces.  Rose imperial topazes are a tough find, as usually they have too much of an orange component to them.  But this crystal, though small, possesses that true rose imperial color.

Beryl var. Emerald (Trapiche) #EMR0009 Chivor Mine, Almeida, Colombia 9.7 x 4.2 x 4.2mm / 1.2 cts $50 SOLD
Description:	A neat little treasure, this trapiche emerald shows a well-defined six-rayed star of deep green color with sandy colored components between the spokes of the trapiche star.  Its different from most trapiche crystals, which usually have a black element to them, as the space between the spoke gets filled with darker carbon impurities.  Very nice, and priced to sell!

Parisite #PAR0001 Muzo Mine, Boyaca Department, Colombia 15.1 x 12.1 x 10.9mm / 19.7 cts $245 Order this Specimen
Description:	Funny, the emerald mine at Muzo is also known for producing the world's best crystals of this rare earth mineral (well, great crystals have been found in the Zagi Mountains, but I think these Colombian parisites are classics).  This crystal has a beehive shape to it, with a honey-brown color, and chatoyancy at the ends of the crystal that just could not be captured in the pictures.  The crystal is terminated at the narrower end, though I cannot be sure if the bottom is terminated or was once attached to matrix.  A very nice, large-for-the-species example for this world reknowned locale.

Beryl var. Emerald #EMR0011 Malyshevo, Ekaterinburg, Urals Region, Russia 59.7 x 45.9 x 27.9 mm $750 SOLD
Description:	Talk about a diamond in the rough!  Well this is not a diamond, but let me explain.  When I got this specimen, it was a chunk of gray schist with some areas of emerald poking through.  Well I went to work on it, spent about 8 hours or so trimming away the matrix, and look at the results!  Two terminated crystals of emerald, oriented upside down to each other.  The long slender crystal is about 4-cm long and has a crude but definite termination, and appears to be a compound crystal.  Now the stouter crystal (which is 3.3-cm long and 2.2 cm wide) could be the braggert of the two, because it has a pristine flat pinacoidal termination, and interestingly, the crystal was naturally fractured toward the base and then the schist matrix filled in the void, leaving the two parts of the crystal shifted slightly.  The color of the crystals is a bit deeper than the photos suggest.  This is a rare specimen, as most Russian emeralds are either unterminated or have a paler color.  The specimen could actually be split into two pieces, one for each main crystal.  But I decided to leave it as it is.  There are some other smaller partial emeralds throughout the matrix which I did not fully expose for fear of having the specimen break in half.  OK, enough said!

Diamond #DIA0001 Argyle Mine, Kimberley, Australia 11.9 x 11.9 x 9.1 mm/ 6.8 cts $1,125 SOLD
Description:	I cannot express how much I love this crystal!  It was the first Australian diamond I ever owned, and one of the best I have seen.  The Argyle mine is famous for champagne colored, well-formed gemmy octahedral diamonds.  This crystal is in the upper range of size for the crystals found there.  I rarely see crystals from this mine that exceed 3 or 4 carats, and even those of similar clarity and shape sell for more than I am asking for this crystal, which is almost 7 carats in weight, very hefty.  I have seen crystals as large as 14 carats from this mine, so you know this is a locale that doesn't disappoint.  You will love this diamond so much, you will never put it down!

Wulfenite #WLF0001 Helena Mine, Miess, Slovenia (former Yugoslavia) 43.2 x 23.1 x 13.9mm $275 Order this Specimen
Description:	While I am not an expert in wulfenite locales, I do know that this mine in Meiss is famous for these buttery yellow thick tabular crystals.  This is a fine miniature specimen that has been in at least two other collections based on the mineral labels on the back side.  The pictures speak for themselves.  If you have wanted a wulfenite from this locale, you will love this one.  The price is great in my humble opinion!

Scorodite #SDT0001 Arhbar, Bou Azzer, Morocco 29.3 x 22.5 x 20.7mm $45 SOLD
Description:	Here is an affordable sample of color-changing scorodite from Morocco.  The crystals show a purplish-dark green color in incandescent light, and under fluorescent light turn a blue-green color.  A cute thumbnail, and color-changing minerals are always fun to examine.

Spodumene #SPD0002 Kunar Valley, Kunar Province, Afghanistan 35.6 x 10.1 x 6.9mm / 28.8 cts $50 Order this Specimen
Description:	Another colorless spodumene that I purchased in the same parcel with the one above.  This doubly terminated crystal is a little smaller, but has superb form and great terminations.  The main termination is also a sharp wedge shape, and the bottom shows a more complex multi-level termination.  Nice crystal for the money.

Tourmaline var. Rubellite #RBL0002 Malkhan, Transbaikal Region, Russia 30.8 x 26.3 x 21.6mm $245 Order this Specimen
Description:	I was talking with another dealer-friend yesterday about how hard it is to capture the true color of these Russian rubellites when we use digital cameras.  This crystal is a deep raspberry pink color, but the pics came out with a hint of orange.  I assure you this is not an orange crystal!  Look at the termination, it is like "Mercedes" logo in a way, and has this cool hexagon shaped facet on top.  I will let the pictures draw the saliva from your mouths!  Keep drooling ... or just buy this fat crystal before I decide to keep it!

Elbaite var. "Blue Cap" #ELB0007 Tourmaline Queen Mine, Pala, California, USA 68.9 x 63.4 x 31.8mm $400 SOLD
Description:	This is a very unique crystal from probably the most famous tourmaline mine in the galaxy!  Let me start off by saying that it is NOT from the 1972 famous "blue cap" pocket.  And it does have damage and bruising (which is why the price is not astronomical).  But it is huge!  And it does have an inky blue cap.  It is actually a dark, opaque core, with a rind of pink followed by a rind of blue, so from the side you see the pink layer and then the blue cap.  This crystal belonged to Earl Kelly (The "Tourmaline Man"), when he acquired it decades ago.  A good, large reference specimen for the Queen Mine.

Diamond #DIA0004 Masvingo, Zimbabwe 12.8 x 12.7 11.7mm / 12.7 cts $800 Order this Specimen
Description:	It's a bird, it's a plane, it's ... a giant diamond from Zimbabwe, here to save you from your monotonous life of staring at tiny diamonds all day long!  OK, am I the only one who does that?  Anyway, the pics do not do this crystal justice.  It's a large octahedron with lots of parallel crystals all around and even some smaller parallel crystals.  The crystal is mainly opaque, but some of the smaller crystals show a yellow-green translucency.  A very nice crystal for this locale, famous for its large diamonds.  And at almost 13 carats, you can't complain!

Corundum var. Sapphire #SPH0005 New South Wales, Australia 17.8 x 8.3 x 6.7mm / 8.7 cts $45 Order this Specimen
Description:	This is a neat little sapphire crystal of a bluish color.  I think it's a nice locality piece.  Has a great dogtooth shape, with a neat little colorless region at the termination.  Would make a nice pendant or just a nice addition to your TN collection.

Nagyagite #NGY0001 Sacaramb, Romania 37.3 x 29.3 x 21.3mm $395 SOLD
Description:	Lead, gold, tellurium, and antimony, sprinkle in some sulfur ... cook at 1800 degrees F for a few days, and let it cool off.  Um, is that how it happened?  Probably not, but this is one of my favorite minerals, just based on its unique combination of metallic elements.  This a great miniature specimen, consisting of wafer-like books of silver-gray nagyagite crystals to 8-mm on matrix with micro-quartz crystals.  The broader crystal faces tend to shine with a bright luster.  Just an awesome example of this rare species from the type locale.

Diamond #DIA0005 Democratic Republic of the Congo 5.9 x 5.7 x 6.0mm / 1.6 cts $45 SOLD
Description:	You could play a miniature soccer game with this cute crystal.  Well, it may not be a true soccer ball shape, but it does have a unique form.  This is probably my favorite form for diamond crystals, second to star twins.  It is an opaque modified cube that from all square faces looks like an octagon, and all the corner faces have been filled in with triangles.  Very neat!

Elbaite var. "Blue Cap" #ELB0006 Stewart Mine, Pala, California, USA 15.2 x 17.3 x 14.9mm/ 36.05 cts $125 Order this Specimen
Description:	This is an old Ed Swoboda crystal that I have treasured for its unique colors.  It is an intense bubble-gum pink core with a ... you guessed it, a blue cap.  The blue color is not so indigo, but more of a mix of a sky blue.  Very nice form, and terminated with a frosted pinacoid.

Quartz var. Citrine #CTN0001 Northwestern Province, Zambia 71.9 x 14.4 x 11.4mm / 93.4 cts $95 SOLD
Description:	Natural citrine is not as common as one would think.  With all the heated gunky crystals from Brazil and Uruguay, citrine in its natural state does not get much attention.  But this crystal is a lovely amber color, natural and unheated.  It has a long prismatic form and nice termination ... the locale is famous for this type of slender citrine crystal.  There is also a small side crystal near the base.  Some tiny nicks, and one prism face has a longitudian contact but it doesn't detract much.  Like I said, natural citrine, especially in such well-formed larger crystals, is rare.  So grab this one while you can.

Milarite #MLA0002 Giuv Valley, Tujetsch, Grischun, Switzerland 12.4 x 2.7 x2.9mm / 0.85 cts $345 Order this Specimen
Description:	Milarite is a rare species in its own rite.  Great crystals come from Brazil, and Namibia.  But the most cherished crystals are those from Val Giuv (Giuv Valley) in Switzerland.  These are the "classics" of the species and extremely difficult to find for sale.  This is a splendid prismatic crystal with a great termination, and shiny faces.  The crystals from this locale are often included with green chlorite, as is this crystal.  Though the chlorite inclusions run on an angle, so that the termination of the crystal shows a slim triangle of total transparency which runs partly down the crystal.  This is a rare opportunity to get a Swiss milarite, I assure you!  If you have wanted one, here is your chance!

Adamite var. Manganoan #ADM0004 Mina Ojuela, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico 35.7 x 30.2 x 17.2mm $485 Order this Specimen
Description:	This is a former Elling Collection piece, and you can tell it is one of the finest manganoan adamites on the market from this locale.  The largest crystal comprises the longest dimension of the whole specimen.  It is basically a couple of large crystals that have fanned out to form complex terminations.  The main crystal has a lovely purple color at the tips, which fades to colorless, and there is a hint of yellow-green toward the bottom of the crystal.  This specimen is 95% crystalline, with minor matrix.  Just a totally mindblowing specimen from Mina Ojuela, where this is a "holy grail" species!

Beryl var. Red #BER0003 Violet Claims, Wah Wah Mountains, Utah, USA 33.6 x 28.3 x 16.6mm $1,200 Order this Specimen
Description:	I don't know how to even begin to describe this specimen, it is so intricate!  Let's give it a try.  There is one main crystal that is enormous for the species, with several terminated red beryls intersecting the central crystal.  The main red beryl crystal is a whopping 24.8 x 15.1 x 17.1mm and is double terminated, with other large penetrating crystals.  That's right, the main crystal is about 0.5mm shy of being a 1" long, and it is a very wide crystal at 17.1mm, that is almost 0.7" wide!  A 1" x 0.7" red beryl!  To borrow a line from my wife, "Holy guacamole and cheeseburgers!"  (Where did she steal that line?)  Seriously, this is a truly rare specimen.  The main crystal has a lot of rhyloite scattered about (keeping the price from getting ridiculous), but shows equally charming raspberry red areas.  A portion of the termination of the main crystal shows some contact, but there is a good amount of gemminess at the main termination, with a smaller crystal growing right out at an angle.  At the bottom of the main crystal, where the majority of the termination is buried in the matrix, there is a gemmy deep red side crystal that itself would make a nice specimen.  It just happens to be attached to the King Kong of red beryls.  Displays great from front and back.  This person is so much better in person.  You are not going to find many red beryls of this size in your lifetime!  Snag it while you can!

Diamond #DIA0003 Premier Mine, South Africa 7.4 x 6.3 x 2.5mm / 1.0 cts $225 Order this Specimen
Description:	From the Premier Mine, a fine macle crystal with lustrous faces and concentric smaller triangular flat crystals growing on top of the main crystal.  There is a slight yellow tinge overall, but as far as macles go, this is a full 1 carat stone with great form.  A nice crystal for the price!

Beryl var. Emerald (Trapiche) #EMR0010 Chivor Mine, Almeida, Colombia 4.0 x 4.0 x 3.4mm / 0.35 cts $45 SOLD
Description:	Another cute little trapiche, this one is a bit stubbier than the one above, but has great color and form.  As with the other trapiche in this update, there is a sandy material between the spokes of the "cogwheel", rather than the typical carboniferous material.  In a word, just plain "cute."

Fluorite (Pink) #FLU0001 Grimsel Pass, Switzerland 15.1 x 14.0 x 7.8mm / 10.85 cts $75 Order this Specimen
Description:	Pink and red are the most sought after colors for fluorite.  France and Switzerland are by far the most famous locales for pink fluorites.  This specimen is consists of one main crystal with a lot of parallel growth occuring.  The pics seem to make the crystal look more orange or yellow, but it is a true rose pink.  The bottom of the crystal shows contact, maybe where it was once attached to a quartz crystal, as is the case in many of the Alpine fluorites.  This keeps the price quite reasonable while not detracting from the beauty of the crystal.  A lovely thumbnail from a rare locale!

Beryl var. Emerald #EMR0008 Chivor Mine, Almeida, Colombia 19.8 x 15.8 x 11.8mm / 27.3 cts $595 Order this Specimen
Description:	This specimen has some the best deep green color (with that hint of Chivor blue) that I have ever seen in a Colombian emerald specimen.  We have here two doubly terminated, transparent to translucent crystals with great luster.  I have priced this crystal quite low in my opinion, even though it has great size and color.  This is due to the carbon inclusions.  There is still plenty of cutting rough within, but please don't cut it!  Also, it appears that someone tried to scrape away a black inclusion on the smaller crystal which left striations on the termination.  So the price reflects these imperfections, but overall the color is what will blow your mind.  That is what sold me on this specimen years ago!  From my collection to yours, enjoy!

Axinite-(Fe) #AXN0001 Bourg d'Oisans, Isere, Rhone-Alpes, France 50.9 x 47.3 x 10.5 mm (65.0 mm along diagonal) / 190.7 cts $800 Order this Specimen
Description:	Axinite (ferroaxinite) from this locale forms in probably the best crystals of any place for the species in the whole world.  Sure we have axinite in California, and many fine specimens come from Russia.  But this locale in France produces these fine crystals with a reddish-brown to orange-yellow color.  Just look at the color against my lamp.  This crystal is enormous for this locale, and is quite large for the species.  The entire crystal has natural faces except for the base where it was removed from matrix.  The crystal is over 2" long, now good luck finding another specimen from Bourg d'Oisans with crystals this big.  This piece is a killer.

Diamond #DIA0002 Premier Mine, South Africa 9.5 x 8.3 x 5.3mm / 4.4 cts $695 Order this Specimen
Description:	Man, my pics stink on this one!  This is another big diamond crystal, this one from South Africa.  Over 4 carats, it is a flattened octahedron (halfway to becoming a macle), with a slight yellowish tinge.  The crystal has fractures within but I would still consider it transparent, as it is clear enough in some places to read through.  The crystal has little complexities to it that you can see in the close-ups, like layering on the edges and great luster all around.

Uvarovite #UVR0002 Outokumpu Mine, Outokumpu, Finland 13.1 x 11.5 x 11.5mm $325 SOLD
Description:	Better than from any other locale, the uvarovites from this Finland locale are classic treasures.  This is a floater crystal, which was probably separated from its matrix a long time ago.  At 13-mm it is quite large, though crystals over 2-cm have been found from this locale (those are all in museums or in highly prized collections).  Now remember, these are true uvarovites, not chrome grossulars like those from Canada, or chrome andradites like the ones from Pakistan or Iran.  This is the real deal, deep intense green, lustrous, and rare!

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