Quartz (Smoky Quartz and Amethyst)

Item Description

This specimen is labeled as coming from the Woodpecker Mine in Pinal County, Arizona, and was collected by Benjy Kuehling (July 9, 1938-May 26, 2020), the well-known owner of Columbine Mineral Shop in Ouray, Colorado. You probably won't find this locality in any database, as Benjy was a prolific field collector, and spent his retirement years in Arizona digging all over the place. Odds are, the "Woodpecker Mine", was a surface digging, and not a fully functional underground operation. With that said, this piece is a very attractive display specimen filled with sharp, lustrous, translucent hexagonal crystals of Quartz which range in color from a light smoky hue on the surface which transitions into a purple Amethyst hue in the centers of the crystals, and ends with another layer of smoky and purple colors at the base. The terminations show an interesting "phantom"-esque effect, with the outer edges revealing a slightly more pronounced darker smoky hue than the centers of the terminations. The piece shows a decent amount of translucency when backlit. Overall, the piece is in fine condition, with no major damage, though the periphery shows separation marks where the crystals were intergrown with other Quartz crystals at one point. Also, the base of the specimen is sawn, but this allows it to sit beautifully on its own without the aid of a base or clay. If you collect worldwide Quartz specimens or minerals of Arizona, I know you don't have one of these in your collection, so don't miss out, as it's possible more will never be found.