Aquamarine (early specimen) (ex Richard A. Kosnar Collection)

Item Description

The Pingwu Beryl Mine is a world-famous locality that has produced some of the finest examples of Scheelite, Cassiterite and Aquamarine ever found. This particular specimen is not from any contemporary mining, but was actually one of the VERY FIRST pieces to make its way to the western market in 1995. The piece was formerly in the collection of Richard A. Kosnar, the well-known mineral dealer and namesake for the phosaphte species Kosnarite. Rich acquired the specimen from his good friend Professor Russ Honea of the Univeristy of Colorado, who personally obtained the piece in China while on a buying trip. Featured prominently at the top of the specimen is notably THICK tabular Aquamarine crystal measuring 7.1 cm across with a gorgeous blue color and wonderful internal translucency. The basal faces of each side of the crystal have eye-catching little "stepped" faces all over, which are a stark contrast to the brilliant, smooth, broad prism faces on the exterior edges. It's rare enough to find a such a high Beryl crystal of this size from any locality, but the fact that it's tabular is incredibly hard to find as nearly all Aquamarine crystals are elongated prisms. Associated at the base of the Aqua are a few WATER CLEAR, razor-sharp, texbook, colorless Quartz crystals along with silvery, bladed groups of Muscovite mica. No real damage anywhere to be seen, and the piece presents so wonderfully with that large solitary Aqua crystal sitting aesthetically at the top central portion of the specimen. A wonderful peek back into the early history of the specimens that came out of this mine. This piece would make a great addition to any suite of gem crystals, Chinese minerals or worldwide Beryls. Priced at $5,000 in the inventory.