Celestine with Calcite

Item Description

Please note that this specimen is labeled as coming from the N'Chwaning I Mine, and I cannot confirm if this is correct. Although the species has been reported from this mine, the only specimens I've seen have all come from the N'Chwaning II Mine, so this could be a slight labeling error, or this is an exceptionally rare locality specimen. With that said, it's one of the best Celestines we've ever had to offer from the N'Chwaning Mines, as it not only features a good sized group of robust, blocky, well-formed crystals measuring up to 1.2 cm across, but they have a very attractive blue color, better than the vast majority I've had over the years from the Kalahari Manganese Field. If you look on the lower edges of the piece, you'll see some beautiful little gemmy colorless scalenohedral Calcite crystals, which make for a charming accent to the wonderful Celestine crystals. The piece is in notably fine condition, with no major damage that I can see on the Celestine crystals. These are rare enough from the N'Chwaning Mines, but to have a piece with such wonderful defined euhedral crystals (not thin blades or "tufts" but really good crystals) with strong color is a big deal, so don't miss out on this one. It's one of those pieces that will fill in a spot in a comprehensive Kalahari collection, and you would be hard-pressed to find another like it on the market right now. I have to stress that THE COLOR IS BETTER IN PERSON than the photo/video indicate. I value this one highly, in the $2,000 range for its fine quality and scarceness from the locality. From the collection of Jelani Daniel.