Dioptase

Reneville, Kindanba Dist., Pool Dept., Republic of Congo
Ex. Wouter van Tichelen
Large Cabinet, 12.0 x 6.0 x 3.0 cm
Start Time: 01/25/2023 7:00:00 pm (CST)
End Time: 02/05/2023 5:10:00 pm (CST)
Auction Closed
Winning Bid: $2,255

Item Description

Dioptase has now come from multiple localities in good quality, and although Tsumeb material is "generally" considered the best, it now has been given a run for the money by fine specimens from a very few modern finds. At first glance, because of the vivid color and the size of the piece, most people would think this to be a Tsumeb Mine dioptase for the strong color saturation and almost gemmy edges... And it DOES look the part, except for the darker matrix association, indicative of Reneville, in the Republic of Congo (not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of Congo!). The crystals are just a bit more translucent in the "skin," and the overall look is not quite "Tsumeb"... but it is close to what those far pricier classics look like. It is in fact from Reneville (plancheite on backside is indicative, for one, as well as the darker matrixy bits on the left), and is probably older than the mid-1980s Tsumeb material of the same species, which fetch such a premium in part just because they are from the more famous mine locale. The crystals are sharp and there are many discrete crystals poking up, to over 1 cm. The color saturation is the best for the locality, a very vibrant hue which has some "life " to it and not so dark as to suck up too much light and color, as is sometimes the case. This was valued at $6500-8500 and comes from the collection of Belgian collector, Dr. Wouter Van Tichelen. He had a particularly strong Africa suite. If this were Tsumeb, you would expect a valuation and price of $15-20k, double the value assigned to similarly looking dioptase from any other locality in Africa, for reasons of sentiment and historical bias. But, when they are just as good, it is hard to explain that premium when looking at them side by side, visually.

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Bidding History

Bid Amount Bid Time
$2,255 02/05/2023 5:04:57 pm (CST)
$2,250 02/05/2023 5:04:57 pm (CST)
$2,200 02/05/2023 5:04:47 pm (CST)
$2,150 02/05/2023 5:04:47 pm (CST)
$2,100 02/05/2023 5:04:26 pm (CST)
$2,050 02/05/2023 5:03:21 pm (CST)
$2,000 02/05/2023 5:02:45 pm (CST)
$1,950 02/05/2023 5:02:28 pm (CST)
$1,900 02/05/2023 5:02:28 pm (CST)
$1,850 02/05/2023 5:02:07 pm (CST)
$1,800 02/05/2023 5:01:56 pm (CST)
$1,750 02/05/2023 5:01:16 pm (CST)
$1,700 02/05/2023 5:00:41 pm (CST)
$1,650 02/05/2023 5:00:19 pm (CST)
$1,600 02/05/2023 4:59:31 pm (CST)
$1,550 02/05/2023 4:32:13 pm (CST)
$1,500 02/05/2023 4:32:02 pm (CST)
$1,450 02/05/2023 4:32:02 pm (CST)
$1,400 02/05/2023 10:46:02 am (CST)
$1,350 02/05/2023 10:46:01 am (CST)
$1,160 02/03/2023 3:40:17 am (CST)
$1,111 02/03/2023 3:40:17 am (CST)
$1,075 01/27/2023 7:17:13 pm (CST)
$1,025 01/27/2023 7:17:13 pm (CST)
$900 01/27/2023 12:16:22 am (CST)
$875 01/27/2023 12:16:22 am (CST)
$200 01/26/2023 10:43:59 pm (CST)
$190 01/26/2023 10:43:59 pm (CST)
$180 01/26/2023 10:43:20 pm (CST)
$170 01/26/2023 10:43:20 pm (CST)
$160 01/26/2023 7:16:12 pm (CST)
$150 01/26/2023 7:16:12 pm (CST)
$110 01/26/2023 1:15:03 pm (CST)
$100 01/26/2023 11:08:33 am (CST)