Dioptase (rare impressive locality specimen)

Item Description

Dioptase is one of the most well-known and sought after mineral species in the world. Most collectors are quite familiar with the famous pieces from places like Tsumeb, Congo and the Kaokoveld Plateau in Namibia, but there are plenty of more obscure localities for the species all over. This particular specimen is the finest example of Dioptase that we've ever had to offer from the La Farola Mine in Chile. The beautiful color (which has a slight tinge more blue than your typical emerald green shade most commonly associated with Dioptase) combined with unusual botryoidal / radial formation sets it apart from the majority of Dioptase specimens you'll see from a bunch of other localities. Up close it appears that there may actually be a thin drusy layer of Quartz coating the Dioptase, not unlike the Chrysocolla specimens from the Ray Mine in Arizona which are coated by the same thin layer of Quartz. I did find a specimen on mindat.org that also shows Quartz coating Dioptase, so this is certainly a distinct possibility with this specimen. The major aspect of this specimen that makes it so significant is the fact that it's a full sized cabinet display piece, and larger and better quality than anything else I've seen from the mine (admittedly it's only a handful of pieces over the years). This is the kind of piece that you put in a case and ask your friends to guess where it's from. I promise that most of them have never seen anything quite like this piece before, and it's not just a reference/locality specimen, it's a beautiful and showy display piece that would fit wonderfully into any worldwide collection or a suite or secondary/copper minerals. Priced in our inventory at $4,500.