Dioptase (new find!)

Item Description

From a brand new find in January of 2019, here we have the latest from the Mpita Mine. Even though Dioptase is almost universally beloved, there aren't that many localities that produce excellent specimens. We were fortunate to purchase a lot of some brand new specimens from the Mpita Mine near the small village of Kimbedi which lies on the railroad between Lutete and Mindouli in Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville). These specimens are a bit different from what we've seen in the past as they features beautiful isolated clusters of Dioptase sprinkled over the matrix. For a moment, you can almost picture this as a Tsumeb specimen, as the Dioptase crytals have formed on small silvery-white colored Calcite rhombs, but it does have its own distinctive appearance that sets it apart. The color of the crytsals is superb, with that classic emerald green hue, and the they highly lustrous with fine trigonal form. Some of the Dioptase crystals have formed in almost "spherical" groups, while others have a bit more of a layered / parallel growth style to them. Additionally, if you look closely, you can see small brilliant orange-yellow crystals of Wulfenite sprinkled here and there! We took a few micro photo to better illustrate the quality of the little Wulfenites, and you can see that they are actually pyramidal in habit, which is unusual for the locality. The contrast between the Dioptase and the Wulfenites is spectacular. There are also some grey-black colored spherical groups of what could be Mottramite or possibly Goethite as well. You can spend a great deal of time with this one under the microscope. Most of crystals are in great shape, a few are contacted, but it's in great shape overall. When you consider the high prices being paid for Tsumeb Dioptase specimens today, this piece is a great bargain by comparison and still has a bit of the "Tsumeb"-eque quality to it. Priced in the inventory at $950.