Samarskite (very rare)

Item Description

Samarskite is a complex rare-earth oxide, and was named after Colonel Vasilii Yefrafovich von Samarski-Bykhovets who was the chief of Staff of the Russian Corps of Mining Engineers in the 1800s. This is one of the very few faceted gems of this material that I have ever had to offer in the auctions, and certainly the LARGEST STONE of the material that I have ever seen. The stone is black and opaque, but is from a brand new find in Afghanistan! For rare stone collectors, I'm sure that very few of you have one of these stones in your collection, and this is an incredible opportunity to obtain an outstanding example of this remarkably rare material. I obtained this stone with a retail value of $1576.50, and the $1000 starting bid is a great price for a museum quality collector's gem like this.