Azurite (GEM CRYSTAL!)

Item Description

Although Azurite has been found in a large number of world localities, a few of them stand out for producing superb quality specimens, namely places like Tsumeb, Touissit, Bisbee, etc., but the contemporary specimens from the Milpillas Mine in Mexico are not only the best Azurites from any locality in the entire country, they are some of the best in the world. These crystals are prized for their superior form, color and luster, but THIS particular piece is even more desirable as the crystal is GEM QUALITY(!) internally. With strong backlighting, you can see the crystal is TRANSPARENT internally, with an electric indigo-blue color. The crystal honestly looks black in reflected light, and I was honestly a bit shocked to see such immense internal clarity, especially in a thicker crystal like this, as you typically need fairly thin blades of Azurite to get this kind of water-clear gemminess. The crystal is undamaged with well-formed faces, and even has a bit of attached matrix for a really nice touch. This is certainly one of the best thumbnails from Milpillas that we've had to offer in the auctions for obvious reasons, and now that the mine is no longer producing specimens, a piece like is particularly desirable. It's difficult to place a fair market value on a piece like this, but it's easily in the $1,500 range if I were to put it out for sale at a show.
From the collection of David E Ziga, a geologist who graduated Miami (of Ohio) University in 2017, with a mineralogy background. Specimen #24.