Hemimorphite (excellent color)

Item Description

This piece is from the famous Sa Duchessa Mine in Sardinia, a rich zinc-lead-copper deposit which is world renowned for its intense blue Hemimorphites. These old world blue Hemimorphites are arguably the most well-known historic blue Hemimorphites ever found. Similar contemporary specimens have been found in localities in China and the Congo, but these old Sardinian specimens will always remain as classics. With that said, this piece features a coverage of botryoidal, translucent, beautiful blue colored "balls" of Hemimorphite sitting atop contrasting oxidized matrix. It's a rich specimen and glows with color with back lighting. For reference, the Sa Duchessa Mine dates back to 1870, and closed in 1971, so this piece is a MINIMUM of 50 years old. Priced at $3,000 in our inventory. From the worldwide collection of famed Italian mineral collector, field collector and author, Francesco Bedogne of Sondrio, Italy. Bedogne wrote dozens of articles and several books about the mineralogy of Italian Alpine localities such as Val Bregaglia, Val Masino, Val Codera, Val Spluga, Valtellina and the famous Val Malenco. He was also the founder of the Valtellinese Mineralogical Institute.