Aquamarine on Muscovite (ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection)

Pingwu Beryl Mine, Huya Township, Mt Xuebaoding, Pingwu Co., Mianyang, Sichuan, China
Cabinet, 12.4 x 10.6 x 3.8 cm
Start Time: 03/24/2022 9:00:00 pm (CDT)
End Time: 03/31/2022 6:45:00 pm (CDT)
Auction Closed
Winning Bid: $999

Item Description

The specimens from Pingwu are some of the most unique and attractive pieces from any Chinese locality. Some of the most distinctive specimens of Aquamarine have come from this locality. This particular piece features several very sharp, lustrous, gemmy, soft blue color, unusually tabular hexagonal crystals of Aquamarine measuring up to 3.2 cm across associated with chalky white Albite sitting atop a crystallized matrix of compressed, bladed, silvery Muscovite. It's rare to find tabular Aquamarine crystals from any locality, let alone such fine quality examples like this! The quality is very good all around, with only a tiny bit of roughness that I can see. A great display quality association specimen from this unique locality. Priced at $7,000 retail in our inventory. Ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection. Along with amassing one of the finest private mineral collections in the world, Steve is a renowned mathematician. His accomplishments include being awarded the Fields Medal in 1966 along with being the awarded the Wolf Prize in mathematics in 2007. You can read Steve's bio on the Mineralogical Record website ( https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/smalestephen/ ) or on Wikipedia.

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Bidding History

Bid Amount Bid Time
$999 03/31/2022 6:39:11 pm (CDT)