Dioptase on Calcite (type locality)

Item Description

Most people think that Tsumeb in Namibia is the original (type lcoality) for dioptase but actually that is not the case, and it actually came out of this ancient copper mine in the mountains of modern Kazakhstan, and made its way to science through Russian mineralogists in the 1800s. In the West, we had seldom seen ANY of this old material, until a release of recently collected dioptase here after the wall fell, and the Fersman Museum sold many specimens in storage in the mid 1990s. We used to buy them directly from the Museum, and they had current expeditions there. Some dealers went in the 1990s, and then it pretty much dried up. Try finding a good one today! this is a superb miniature , a three dimensional knob with deep green crystals to 8mm. Significant minaiture for the locale, valued $1000-1250. ex Keith Williams personal collection (Keith is a retired dealer, known for his taste in aesthetic miniatures, USA classics, and Colorado material. He was one of the first to bring out Bulgarian material in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and a dealer for perhaps 50 years. )