Malachite ps. Azurite with Quartz coating

Item Description

Malachite pseudomorphs after Azurite are Tsumeb classics, and this is an excellent small cabinet sized specimen specimen from a special find thought to have come out in the 1960s and notable for the sugary sparkle atop, caused by a micro thin layer of quartz deposited atop. Quartz is highly unusual for Tsumeb! The Malachite pseudomorphs of the Azurite crystals are very sharp in their fidelity of replacement of the original Azurites, and the surface shows sparkling microcrystals of Malachite (actually caused by the quartz coating) that is an amazing sheen - is striking and attractive. It is almost unique to Tsumeb in this kind of surface texture for Malachite. The two crystals are each two inches in length and you could call them "the Two Towers" with one being wider than the other. and they are separated by a sliver of matrix and they both are situated on a colorful piece of matrix composed of a mottling of fine-grained copper secondaries. The overall aesthetics and quality of this piece are top notch. It is complete all around and the best shade of green - not too dark nor too lightly colored. This is a significant old Tsumeb specimen, almost surely from the old mining of the first or second oxide zones here and certainly before the 1960s.