Anatase on Quartz (classic material) (ex Dave Bergman Collection)

Item Description

A classic Norwegian Anatase specimen featuring excellent sapphire blue color, sharp, lustrous crystals on a very gemmy lustrous Quartz crystal. When backlit, the Anatase crystals are gemmy and these are true blue Anatase, not brown or black like many others out there. The largest crystal measures up to 7 mm. Good Anatase specimens from Norway are next to impossible to obtain these days, even the more recent specimens from 20 years ago, due to the fact that this famous locale is protected as a natural site and collecting is strictly forbidden. The best of these specimens are certainly the finest Anatase specimens in the world, and they simply are stunning to view in person. Minor roughness on the specimen, but good quality all around. From the collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman. Dave is now retired from mining, but spent many years underground, including as the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado during the late 1970s. He is also the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. See Dave's photo mining at the Sweet Home on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures". The piece was given to Dave as a gift by his son-in-law, Rich Kosnar in the early 1980s.