Dioptase with Duftite

Item Description

When it comes to Dioptase, there is no locality greater or more prolific than Tsumeb for quantity and quality. The finest Tsumeb Dioptases are simply breathtaking, and now in very short supply on the market. This specimen exhibits the top emerald green color (impossible to replicate in photos) that made these specimens so famous. The crystals themselves, are on the smaller side (only up to about 8 mm), but most are in good condition overall, and gemmy and bright when backlit. They final touch to these sharp, lustrous trigonal crystals is the fact that they are sitting on a bit of Calcite matrix with a selective deposition of olive-green Duftite and powder blue Plancheite(?) according to the label. I don't have to tell you that the value of Tsumeb specimens seems to rise daily, and fine quality specimens are now highly sought after, and prized more than ever by dealers and collectors alike. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#7800). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017).