Aquamarine on Muscovite

Item Description

This impressive matrix specimen has bright, aqua-blue crystals of aquamarine in muscovite matrix. They are sharply hexagonal, and stand out dramatically vs. the metallic, lustrous muscovite blade stacks. Each aqua is about 2 inches, one a little more. The crystal on the left has a small chip on the right edge, but in context its pretty trivial (though, I have to mention it). In person, the crystals have a more glassy luster and higher transparency, though it is hard to get the color right because they change intensity in different lighting conditions. The full-sized horizontal shot is most accurate for color but least for clarity and luster. The closeups show the gemminess more (though still, not the glassy luster, so well). For example, the "glowing" shot reveals the color when closely lit. Also, you can see in that shot a super close up of the crystal with the slight ding in the upper-right, to prove it is really not so big a deal in context. From a new find in Brazil, I JUST got these at Denver but my Brazilian partner wanted me to sell one at auction and determine what was a fair price when I told him that his own suggestion was way too high ($3.5-5k!). I think $2-3k is a fair retail, and obviously maybe a bit less at auction.