Apatite on Quartz ex Smale Coll

Item Description

This specimen is part of the 2021 Dallas Mineral Collecting Symposium benefit auction, with proceeds benefiting Mineralogical Record, Rocks & Minerals, Tucson Gem and Mineral Society, and mindat.org. Thanks to all of our participants!

Billing for this auction will occur on Monday, August 23, for payment using PayPal or a credit card. Shipping will be billed at cost.

An elegant example of the classic deep purple apatites that made this location famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s heyday of production at Panasquiera. This features a robust, deeply colored, 2.8 x 2.2 x 1.7 cm crystal of perfection, luster, and color, smartly perched on a pristine quartz point. We did find that the piece was repaired, but it is a lock fit repair that literally clicks on, and we replaced the old weak glue with a few drops of modern superglue to reattach it cleanly - you would never know, and no damage is visible. The display is dramatic as shown, but actually, it could ALSO be mounted so that the quartz point is down in a base and the apatite is floating up in the air...to perhaps even more dramatic effect. Steve acquired this in Paris in 1970 from dealer Rene Daulon (a specialist in the Portugal minerals at the time), and it has remained in his collection until now. Donation to the Symposium Auction. Valued $2500-3000.