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

Item Description

A highly desirable MATRIX specimen from the little known Katerina Mine (Ashley Mine) in Pala. I've only seen a select few pieces from this locality, and this particular specimen is by far the best one. First it's the only matrix piece I can remember having to offer from this mine, but it's also a good quality specimen to boot. The piece features a sharp, well-formed, gemmy, beautiful blue color, prismatic hexagonal Aquamarine crystal measuring 3.01 cm sitting atop a matrix composed of bladed groups of silvery-beige Muscovite and semi-translucent, slightly smoky colored Quartz prisms sitting on a layer of white Feldspar. I found one more secondary Aqua crystal on the back, but it's not complete. Overall the piece is in good shape, with some forgivable roughness around the periphery. It's a MUST HAVE specimen if you collect minerals from San Diego County, worldwide Aquamarines, general pegmatite minerals, etc. You may not see another like this on the market, so don't pass it up. Valued at $1,250 retail. From the collection of Bill Larson of Fallbrook, California. 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. Bill is also known as "Burma Bill" and traveled the world for decades in search of fine gems and minerals, and was directly involved in the in-person acquisition and importation of superb specimens and stones from Myanmar (Burma). You can read his biography at https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/larsonwilliam-f/