2018 TUCSON SHOW REPORT

Write By: tmmadmin Published In: Mineral Show Reports Created Date: 2018-03-09 Hits: 1850 Comment: 0

I still can barely believe how many new, colorful, and exciting specimens we brought home from the Tucson Show this year; this made picking out my favorites really difficult. Here are the new specimens which I love that I think are significant and highly aesthetic. They will give you an idea of what we found. If you are interested in any of these specimens, just click on the "for sale" links to go to the pages in our website where you will find that piece for sale.

My Favorite New Finds
from Tucson 2018

WHAT'S NEW?

Every year we are asked the age-old question: what did you see that is new? It's an important question, and we search the town to find mineral specimens from the latest finds. Here are our new discoveries:

NEW! Yellow Brucite from Pakistan

4.1" Lemon Yellow BRUCITE Bubbly Botryoidal Crystals NEW FIND Pakistan for sale $180 See the full listing

Here is a beautifully translucent specimen of the best-in-the-world quality and newly discovered brucites from Pakistan, recovered in 2017. The brucite is botryoidal, with good waxy luster, and is partially gemmy. The color is a vivid, lemon yellow, and has a bubbly, slightly rounded appearance reminiscent of hyalite opal. The crystals appear to be composite crystals composed of spherical aggregates. Brucite, Mg-hydroxide, is found in metamorphic rocks and metasediments, in marbles and magnesian skarns.

Here is another one:

2.3" New! BRUCITE Pakistan Colorful Pastel Yellow Botryoidal Crystals for sale $120 See the full listing

NEW! Tabular Quartz from Brazil

4.4" TABULAR QUARTZ Bright Shiny Crystal w-Lots of Baby Tabbies Brazil for sale $160 See the full listing

Tabular quartz crystals, sometimes referred to as "tabbies", have two wide, flat sides. Sometimes they are merely thin slabs of quartz which have re-healed on one or both of the flat sides. But this piece is in fact a complete crystal, double terminated, with crystal faces on all sides. And, it is a floater, meaning it formed in soft clay, so there are no contact points. The terminations are broad chisel tips. One side of the crystal is bright and shiny, and the other side is loaded with bright, shiny, smaller tabbies to almost 1" that have overgrown one side.

NEW! Ball Fluorite on Amethyst from India

2.8" Honey Gold BALL FLUORITE Natural Crystal Sphere on Amethyst India for sale $370 See the full listing

Here is a fantastic specimen featuring a golden yellow, translucent ball of ball fluorite sitting on amethyst. Here the fluorite formed as a 1" spheres, nested on rich purple-violet quartz crystal points. Fluorite is abundant worldwide, but ball fluorite is exceedingly rare in nature, and on amethyst? Unheard of! And, there is no damage.

NEW! Amazonite from the Thunder Alley Claim in Colorado

2.7" Fine Sharp RobinsEgg Blue AMAZONITE Crystal Thunder Alley Claim CO for sale $150 See the full listing

Here is a large, vividly colored robin's egg blue amazonite crystal from the Thunder Alley Claim in Colorado. The amazonite crystal is sharply formed, with smooth sides and outstanding color, and is damage free. We purchased this fine specimen direct from the miner.

NEW! Tabular Red Quartz from Morocco

6.6" Colorful RED QUARTZ Flattened Tabular Terminated Crystals Morocco for sale $120 See the full listing

Here is an outstanding specimen of ferruginous red quartz from the new find in Morocco, reportedly from a cave-sized pocket near Tinejdad. This specimen is made up of several big, flat, tabular crystals of clear quartz that are completely covered by a 2- to 4mm crust (not a surface film) of a second generation of red quartz. The bold red color is redder than brick red. The quartz crystals are sharp and all are double terminated. Very aesthetic! No damage.

NEW! Japan-Law Quartz from the Type Locality in Japan

.9" Clear JAPAN-LAW QUARTZ Terminated Twin Crystal Type Locality Japan for sale $115 See the full listing

This is an excellent Japan-law twin, from Japan. It features two clear rabbit ears, with pristine terminations and no damage. There is a thin white vertical line down the middle, demarking the point where the two ears began growing. This one looks like it is a 90-degree angle between the crystals, but all the sources say the angle is 89 degrees (sorry, I lost my protractor). This piece comes from the type locality for the Japan-law twin crystal habit.

NEW! Floater Realgar Crystal from Peru

2.3" Flame Red-Orange REALGAR Hoppered Crystal Eye-Popping Color Peru for sale $265 See the full listing

The overall impression created by the piece is very dramatic. The intense ruby red color draws the eye very powerfully, even when displayed with other fine specimens. The crystal is bright and lustrous, very well formed, with deep hoppering, and has comes to a sharp termination as well. The crystal is pristine and shows no sign of changing to pararealgar due to prolonged exposure to light.

NEW! Dogtooth Quartz Crystals from Brazil

5.2" SMOKY TESSIN QUARTZ Rare "Dogtooth" Formation +Terminations Brazil for sale $100 See the full listing

Tessin quartz is a rare form of quartz that is characterized by tapered crystals that end in small terminations. The taper on these crystals is so dramatic that they were given the name "dogtooth quartz", due to their resemblance to a dog's canine teeth. The color of the crystal is light smoky, with a slightly yellow tint, and the terminations are sharp and damage free. The sides of the crystals have horizontal striations. There is no damage on this highly sculptural and dramatic specimen.

OTHER FAVORITE FINDS

4.4" Cubic Pyrite Group from Spain with Big 3.4" Crystal

4.4" World's Finest CUBIC PYRITE 4 Sharp Flashy Crystals to 3.4" Spain for sale $450 See the full listing

This outstanding specimen is a tight cluster of 4 near-perfect, interlocking pyrite cubes, the largest measuring 3.4" from outisde tip-to-tip (2.1" on edge). Amazingly, this is exactly how this piece came out of the ground (I can attest to this because I have collected specimens very similar to this myself at the mine in Navajun, Spain). The color is a brilliant brassy gold, and the mirror-bright luster of the crystals makes them flash dazzlingly in the light. It has the usual minor defects, but these are not at all noticeable considering the strikign, dramatic, sculptural look of the piece.

6.7" Fluorite on Sphalerite from Tennessee

6.7" Sharp Lustrous Blue-Violet Edged FLUORITE on Sphalerite Elmwood TN for sale $475 See the full listing

The fluorite crystals on this Elmwood specimen have dark purple edges, around a very pale lavender, which is almost clear. They are nicely formed cubic crystals to 3.7" across, with rough surfaces due to multiple cubic growth hillocks on the faces. Several of the corners are gem clear and lustrous, which is beautiful and rare. The crystals have good luster and are well formed. There are no broken or damaged crystals on this fine specimen. I was told by the dealer in Tucson that the piece came from an auction at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, but there is no card for that.

19 carat Emerald Crystal from Colombia

16mm 19.2ct Grass Green GEM EMERALD Terminated Crystal Muzo Colombia for sale $750 See the full listing

This is a large, undamaged, near-gem quality crystal-a vivid green emerald from the famed Muzo Mine in Colombia. The color is delightful; the bright spring green of new leaves and new grass. The twinned crystal is hexagonal, with smooth faces which join to form sharp edges. The flat basal pinacoid termination is glassy and smooth, and the whole crystal just glows with bright color.

3.5" Dioptase from Reneville, Congo (Old Collection)

3.5" Gemmy Green DIOPTASE CRYSTAL in Vug Reneville Congo Old Collection for sale $700 See the full listing

The dark green crystals to 17mm on this exceptional dioptase specimen line the inside of the large vug in the matrix. These are deep green, lustrous crystals of dioptase, with razor sharp edges and joins, and smooth faces on most of the crystals that catch and reflect light in brilliant wet-look flashes. This piece comes from an old find at the old classic Reneville mine in Zaire. The crystals are clean and damage-free, except around the outside edges, and the specimen is really aesthetic and highly dramatic. Ex-Charles M. Noll Collection, with old labels. Noll (1922-2014) bequeathed his extensive mineral collection to his alma mater, Marquette University in Wisconsin. The University had no geology department, so it went to the Seaman Mineralogical Museum, and was later dispersed.

3.2" Wulfenite from Yugoslavia (Slovenia) - Old Collection

3.2" Classic Butterscotch WULFENITE Crystals Yugoslavia Old Collection for sale $280 See the full listing

Here is a beautiful wulfenite specimen from an old and historic locality-Mezica, Slovenia (formerly Yugoslavia, as the old label says. It has large and very sharply defined crystals, in both tabular and rectangular shapes. The color is a lovely butterscotch yellow, which is typical of the locality. Some of the crystals are jumbled together in a solid mass, but there is also an open vug lined with nice individual crystals, perched on the matrix. Only a couple of crystals hae minor bruises. Ex-Charles M. Noll Collection, with old labels. Noll (1922-2014) bequeathed his extensive mineral collection to his alma mater, Marquette University in Wisconsin. The University had no geology department, so it went to the Seaman Mineralogical Museum, and was later dispersed.

9.6" Faden Quartz from Pakistan

9.6" FADEN QUARTZ w-White Lines Double Terminated Gem Crystals Pakistan for sale $275 See the full listing

Here is a superb cluster of faden quartz crystals with sharply defined white lines running up the middle of every tabular, water clear quartz crystal in the group. The crystals in the cluster are flat and tabular, and are double-terminated. The white line zones stand out nicely against the clear, gemmy quartz that makes up the majority of the crystals. The white lines are strings of air bubbles which formed when the crystals were growing, as they continually broke and re-formed as the fissure they grew in expanded. There is no damage.

7.4" Crystallized Copper from Kazakhstan

3.5" Sharp Shiny Spinel Law Twin COPPER Arborescent Crystals Kazakhstan for sale $315 See the full listing

This is a very fine specimen of crystallized native copper, featuring spinel-law twins which grew in a flattened arborescent shape. The color is a dark red-orange-brown, and the individual crystals are sharply formed and lustrous. There is no damage anywhere on this floater specimen.

421 carat Green Tourmaline from Brazil

2.7" 421ct Sharp Green TOURMALINE Crystal Trigonal Termination Brazil for sale $175 See the full listing

Here is a fine crystal of elbaite tourmaline in a very dark green color that is really lovely. The crystal has nicely grooved striations on the sides, and the faces on the trigonal termination are flat and smooth, with some tiny hoppering. The crystal is nearly perfect, highly lustrous, and very dramatic.

4" Pruskite Crystal from Poland - Lab Grown

4" Burgundy Wine Red Gem PRUSKITE Sharp Shiny Crystals to 3.9" Poland for sale $425 See the full listing

On this gorgeous specimen, vivid burgundy red crystals sit on a yellow-orange matrix, creating a spectacular example of lab-grown pruskite from Poland. The crystals are sharply formed and flawless, and have a brilliant wet-look luster that is really stunning. This mineral is one of my favorite lab-grown species for quality, color and display aesthetics.

3.6" Golden Herkimer Diamond from New York

3.6" HERKIMER DIAMOND Golden Healer Quartz 4 Crystal ClusterSkeletal NY for sale $265 See the full listing

The diamonds in this breathtaking cluster are water clear crystals that are sharply double terminated, and most are infused with a rich golden color, making them what are called "Golden Healers". These rare crystals are known for their golden yellow to yellow color which permeates the crystals. The planes of the rainbow-filled crystals are brightly reflective and extremely smooth, and they come together to form very sharp edges and termination points.

4.2" Metallic Jamesonite from Mexico

4.2" Metallic JAMESONITE Silvery Sturdy Thin Crystals on Matrix Mexico for sale $150 See the full listing

This specimen of jamesonite features long, thin, sturdy crystals that cover almost the entire top of the display surface, interwoven with pyrite. The crystals are like matchsticks, up to 1" long, and they have a silvery, submetallic shine that is quite lovely. There is no damage.

4.3" Pyrite Egg from Peru

4.3" Dazzling Flashy Polished PYRITE Egg w/Fine Crystal-Lined Vugs Peru for sale $210 See the full listing

Here is a specimen of pyrite that has been formed and polished into the shape of an egg that weighs 3.3 pounds. The surface is highly lustrous, and it features openings (called pockets or vugs) which are lined with sparkling pyrite crystals in the pyritohedral habit. The color is a brilliant, mirror-bright brassy gold that is really attention-getting. No damage.

5" Green Pyromorphite Crystals from Germany

5" Colorful Grass Green PYROMORPHITE Bubbly Crystals on Matrix Germany for sale $130 See the full listing

Here is a colorful specimen of pyromorphite from the 2014 find at the ancient Gute Hoffnung Mine in Westphalia, Germany. The crystals are slightly botryoidal, and completely cover the surface of the tan matrix with a luminous grass-green color that is really eye-catching. There is no damage to this fine specimen.

5.9" Red Spinel in Marble from Vietnam

5.9" Bright Ruby Red SPINEL Dozens of Crystals in White Marble Vietnam for sale $120 See the full listing

Sharp, gemmy ruby red spinel crystals stand out in striking color contrast against the beautifully carved, flower-like white marble matrix on this superb Vietnamese specimen. The spinel crystals are a rich, slightly pink, red, showing some gemmy transparency in places. This specimen is very colorful, highly aesthetic, and very high quality overall. Rumor has it the mine is closed now.

6.9" Blue Fluorite from Bingham, New Mexico - New 2017

6.9" Sharp Dark Blue Cubic FLUORITE Crystals on Quartz Matrix New Mexico for sale $175 See the full listing

Here is an unusually deep blue fluorite specimen from the famous fluorite mines at Bingham, NM. The crystals are the usual well-defined cubes, and the surfaces are fairly glassy. The intense saturation of the color is outstanding. Let me put it simply: this is as good as it gets for deep, dark, pure blue fluorite from Bingham. This piece came from 2017 work at the site, and is not from the Glory Hole pit.

6.1mm Platinum Crystals with Gold Overcoat from Russia

6.1mm .82ct PLATINUM Twin Crystals w/GOLD Coating Konder Massif Russia for sale $685 See the full listing

Platinum crystals are almost never found outside this remote locality in far eastern Russia, and they are extremely rare. This one is even more unique: the sharp penetrating twin crystals of platinum have a crust of native gold that gives the piece a warm sunny glow. Crystals of this sharpness are exceptional, plus this one, with its rich golden color, is very attractive and visually appealing.

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