Sphalerite with Galena on Calcite and Quartz (ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection)

Item Description

Some of the finest specimens of Sphalerite in the modern era of mineral colleting are those from the Shuikoushan Mine. These crystals exhibit some of the most highly lustrous, gemmy crystals with intense glowing warm hues that instantly made them exceptionally popular when they started making their way to the market in the early 2000s. Today they have all but disappeared from the market it seems. This piece is a beautiful cabinet display specimen featuring fine, sharp, lustrous, somewhat gemmy Sphalerite crystals measuring up to 1.0 cm across associated with a lone cuboctahedral crystal of steel-grey colored Galena measuring 1.7 cm across flaring off the end of the specimen. One side of the matrix is covered with hundreds of little crystals of off-white Calcite, while the other side of the matrix features a layer of sugary Quartz sitting on reddish colored matrix. Overall, the piece is in remarkably good condition as virtually all of the major of the Sphalerite are in good shape, but there are a few minor imperfections that can be seen with magnification. This is a wonderful specimen of this high quality material that didn't get enough attention when they were available, but are now sought after by collectors for their excellent color, quality and gemminess of the Sphalerites. Priced at $950 in the inventory.