I was fortunate to meet a geologist at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Main show (we have a 30 foot booth there). Apparently he was in Chile around 1979 and had collected a number of fine Atacamite specimens at the LA Farola mine. One thing lead to another and I found myself in the parking lot, in front of his trunk filled with about 80 brilliantly green examples of Atacamites! This represented his entire collection of them, as his children were not interested.  I bought the entire lot on the spot and happily returned to my booth. I have seen very few of these on the market over the years, and felt excited to now have so many fine examples.

Atacamite is a copper halide mineral that is relatively uncommon. Most pieces on the market come from Australia and are more solid and less sparkly. Atacamites from the type locality in the Atacama desert of Chile can have beautiful acicular sprays, and occasionally form on a layer of Chrysocholla. 

This piece was shown to me by the geologist as "the best piece," in his opinion. It shows beuatiful acicular sprays of Atacamite, with Gypsum, white phosphate, and small mysterious green balls. He speculated these are Lebethanite but I think they may be Brochantite, but I have not been able to confirm this yet. They could be a different crystallization of Atacamite. Regardless this piece has everything and is visually stunning as the rich green is pleasantly framed by the white minerals. 

ATACAMITE9 - Atacamite on Chrysocolla
$ 125.00 (=~ ¥ 18452.31) SOLD
La Farola Mine, Cerro Pintado, Copiapo Province, Atacama Region, Chile
small cabinet - 9.2 x 4.1 x 4 cm

I was fortunate to meet a geologist at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Main show (we have a 30 foot booth there). Apparently he was in Chile around 1979 and had collected a number of fine Atacamite specimens at the LA Farola mine. One thing lead to another and I found myself in the parking lot, in front of his trunk filled with about 80 brilliantly green examples of Atacamites! This represented his entire collection of them, as his children were not interested.  I bought the entire lot on the spot and happily returned to my booth. I have seen very few of these on the market over the years, and felt excited to now have so many fine examples.

Atacamite is a copper halide mineral that is relatively uncommon. Most pieces on the market come from Australia and are more solid and less sparkly. Atacamites from the type locality in the Atacama desert of Chile can have beautiful acicular sprays, and occasionally form on a layer of Chrysocholla. 

This piece stands perfectly. It is an ideal example for its size. It has soiid Atacamite crystals and a mysterious green ball of "needles," that appears to be Brochantite, although I haven't had that confirmed. 

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(click on the pictures to enlarge)

CORUNDUM5 - Corundum Var. Ruby
SOLD
Sivec Mt. Prilep, Republic of Macedonia
thumbnail - 2.8 x 2.2 x 2 cm

Rubies found at Sivec Mountain, have been mined for thousands of years. It is a marble mine in the Republic of Macedonia. These aren't on the market regularly, and when they are good with a dramatic color contrast from red to white, they are excellent examples of rubies in matrix. They are highly fluorescent, as shown in the fifth pic under a long wave lamp. 

This specimen has dramatic, incredible color. It has a relatively shiny surface. The crystal has a distinct termination, but then the rest of it shows the typial warped nature of a ruby growing inside marble. no damage.

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(click on the pictures to enlarge)

DANBURITE5 - Danburite rough and cut
$ 145.00 (=~ ¥ 21404.68) SOLD
Dalnegorsk, Primorskij Kraj, Russia
small cabinet - 5.8 x 2.3 x 1.6 cm

The crystal exhibits a transparent cognac color with a beautiful complex termination. As with all danburite from this location there is some amount of weathering to the lower extremity of the crystal. It is paired with a 3.06 carat square cut clean stone. No damage. Fine examples, as most Danburitie is chipped.  

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