Amazonite with Albite (ex Richard A. Kosnar Collection)

Item Description

A true Colorado classic. The Amazonites from the Lake George area are some of the most desirable crystallized Feldspars in the world. The combination of the excellent form, associations and that rich blue-green color has made them a favorite among collectors and dealers for decades. This particular specimen was personally collected by Richard A. Kosnar on July 25, 1985. Rich actually moved to Colorado from New Jersey specifically to mine Amazonite specimens. It was shortly after he arrived in Colorado that he met his future partner, Clarence Coil, with whom he collected some of the finest Amazonite and Smoky Quartz specimens ever found in Colorado. This piece features a group comprising sharp, well-formed, blocky and prismatic crystals of Microcline (var: Amazonite) measuring up to 3.7 cm long which are beautifully perched atop a "mound" of white bladed Albite (var: Cleavelandite) matrix. The Amazonites have a fine saturated blue-green color, which is contrasted by lighter colored "stripes" on certain faces which are a selective deposition of a secondary Feldspar species, possibly Anorthite. Now the majority of the Amazonites are undamaged, but there is a large section on the backside of the piece where it was contacted in situ. You can display the specimen in a way where the damage on the back is not visible, but you need to know that it's there. The piece actually does sit beautifully on its own without the aid of a base or clay. Also, it is important to note that this piece has ZERO REPAIRS and not kind of restoration, alteration or treatment of any kind. This is the way it looked when it came out of the ground (minus the dirt that needed to be washed away). This kind of material is seldom available on the market, and considering was found nearly 35 years ago, it's a great "time capsule" specimen of what was coming out of Colorado in the mid 1980s. This was one of the last pieces that Rich personally collected before he became chronically ill (he was already dealing with serious illness prior to this point in time), and his hand-painted collecting information can be found on the base of the piece. Priced at $3,500 in our inventory.