Aquamarine (RARE locality specimen) (ex Bill Larson Collection)

Item Description

Typically, you only see Morganite crystals from the Pala Chief Mine, but this is a very rare Aquamarine crystal from this historic locality. The piece is a fairly thick, highly lustrous, sharp, well-formed, hexagonal prism with a soft blue to nearly white color, free of matrix. The edges of the crystal feature "needle"-like crystals of black Schorl Tourmaline, some of which are actually included beneath the surface of the Aqua. There are a few rough spots, and the piece is contacted on the back, so it's not complete all the way around, but it's arguably the largest individual crystal of Aquamarine that we've ever had to offer from this locality, and would make a fantastic addition to any collection of minerals from the Pala Chief Mine, or a suite of worldwide Beryls or pegmatite minerals. I would put a retail value on this piece around $2,000 for the size, quality and the fact that it's such a rarity from this locality. From the collection of Bill Larson of Fallbrook, California, the piece was field collected by Bob Dawson in 2009. Bill is a well-known gem and mineral dealer as well as a miner and collector. Bill is synonymous with minerals of San Diego County, and owned and operated famous mines such as the Stewart Lithia, the Tourmaline Queen, the Pala Chief and the Himalaya, producing some of the most iconic mineral specimens to come out of the area during the 1970s-1980s. You can read his biography at https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/larsonwilliam-f/