Tuesday Update – Worldwide

DESPITE a busy show schedule, we continue to source new specimens from brand new discoveries and through the acquisition of older collections. Both routes can throw up surprises, with unexpected new forms of species or unusual combinations of minerals from new discoveries, whilst the processing of older collections can result in the pleasure of uncovering long lost treasures thought to have gone into the annals of collecting folklore.

Today’s listings contain a prime example, and one which very nearly made my Collector’s Choice. It is a cabinet-sized blue Hemimorphite studded with bright golden plates of Wulfenite, from the 79 mine in Gila County, Arizona. Virtually never seen nowadays, this superb specimen was sat in a collection in north-west England, passed down from its owner, who recorded acquiring it in 1977 (yes, it is hard to believe that that is almost half a century ago), to their children, probably in the 1990s, as his catalogue ended in 1987.

For Fluorite enthusiasts, we have older (1990s) classics from the famous Okorusu mine, as well as a suite of remarkable miniature French Fluorites. We have a few European classics too, including a superb crystallized Galena from Poland and an unusually well-crystallized Baryte (with Pyromorphite) from Les Farges mine in France. From the America’s there is a rare gem Grossular from Vermont, several Bisbee classics, including a rather unusual old-time yellow Smithsonite, a fine Milpillas mine Azurite and a lovely Benitoite from the Type Locality.

Our new finds from DR Congo are colourful as ever, from pink Cobaltoan Calcite, bright turquoise-blue Quartz-coated Chrysocolla pseudomorphs, powder-blue Shattuckite and deep forest-green Malachite. Completing these are some late 20th century African classics, such as a very lustrous Azuirte from Morocco and a sizable individual Topaz crystal from Klein Spitzkopje in Namibia.

There are certainly some very beautiful specimens to choose from, so why not delve in and have a good inspection of what is on offer.

Next week we turn our eye once again to rare species. I can’t guarantee that these will be as pretty as today’s selection, but they will certainly have some stories to tell.

Please note: Today's featured specimens are all situated at our UK showroom.