Ajoite in Quartz

Item Description

Messina is home to a famous, instantly recognizable occurrence of unique and beautiful Quartz specimens in which the Quartz crystals are included with bright blue Ajoite. Specimens can vary, but this delightful, small-cabinet piece is rich in Ajoite inclusions (a very uncommon copper-containing silicate that is very rare from other localities and seldom this concentrated). What makes this fine, small-cabinet piece rather singular is that it is a pair of joined crystals, and the preferential coating of Ajoite in each creates a sharp, aesthetic phantom just below the surface. There were several small finds around the 1980's and, as you can imagine, quality Ajoite-in-Quartz specimens are seldom available and highly sought-after. We have taken a large swath of these out of the collection already, and are proud to showcase and offer them while we can. After this stash of old specimens is gone, there won't be many on the market...this is from nearly 40 years ago! Valued $4000-5000.