Smithsonite (beautiful green color)

79 Mine, Hayden area, Banner District, Dripping Spring Mts, Gila County, Arizona, USA
Gems, 9.02 mm x 7.31 mm, 2.77 ct
Start Time: 12/29/2022 7:00:00 pm (CST)
End Time: 01/05/2023 6:45:00 pm (CST)
Auction Closed
Winning Bid: $249

Item Description

A large percentage of the Smithsonites that I have seen from the famous 79 Mine show some kind of an olive-green, or yellow-green hue. Rarely have I encountered GEM quality Smithsonite from this mine with such saturated green color! This "Oval" cut stone, despite the fact that it's not 100% clean, is a remarkable gem from this well known Pb-Zn-Cu-Ag-Au-Mo-Sb-V-Fe deposit. Perhaps the color in this stone is amplified by either copper or vanadium or both (?), but you would be hard pressed to find another Smithsonite from any locality with this intense green hue. One does not encounter many of these gems on the market, and no rare gem collection is complete without a good Smithsonite, let alone an electric green gem from Arizona! This is one of the very few Smithsonite stones from any southwestern US locality (outside of the Kelly Mine) that I've ever had to offer. Don't miss out, especially if you're a collector of US gemstones, as the mine is closed, and you can't find this color from virtually any other locality in the world. This one came from an old collection, but a good friend who is an expert on Arizona gemstones told me the high end retail could be as much as $2,354.50.

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Bidding History

Bid Amount Bid Time
$249 01/05/2023 1:26:14 pm (CST)