Dioptase with Wulfenite (ex Reynolds) NOTE corrections added

Item Description

When it comes to Dioptase, there is no locality greater or more prolific than Tsumeb for quantity and quality. The finest Tsumeb Dioptases are simply breathtaking, and now in very short supply on the market. This specimen exhibits deep emerald green color (difficult to replicate in photos) that made these specimens so famous and it is SO GOOD that we did not notice the error in attribution (and Reynolds did not, either!)...it seems to actually be from the Onderra Mine, Opuwo Rural, Kunene Region, Namibia but it is so hefty and thick in crystals that Bob and then us, assumed it was Tsumeb. An expert pointed out to us the association style was not quite right for Tsumeb. The crystals themselves measure up to 1.1 cm and most are in excellent condition, with very little damage whatsoever on the display side. A tiny amount of drusy white Calcite is overgrowing select faces on the Dioptase crystals, giving them a sugary sparkle. The final touch to these sharp, lustrous trigonal Dioptase crystals is the fact that they are associated with stark orange tabular crystals of Wulfenite measuring up to 6 mm. This combination of Dioptase and Wulfenite is only seen in a few places on earth, at least with regard to display quality specimens. I don't have to tell you that the value of Tsumeb specimens seems to rise daily, and fine quality specimens are now highly sought after so this is a Tsumeb lookalike that does the trick for display! Robert (Bob) Reynolds passed in August of 2020. Bob was a well-known fossil and mineral expert and former Curator of Earth Sciences at the San Bernardino County Museum in California. The rare phyllomanganate-chromate species Reynoldsite was named in his honor in 2011.