Azurite (gemmy crystals) (classic material)

Item Description

Azurite from Tsumeb is recognized around the world as some of the finest examples of the species ever found. This piece is a beautiful and aesthetic miniature featuring diverging layered crystals of dark-blue, rather lustrous Azurite, forming an eye-catching "spray", with very minor matrix. One of the signature aspect of Tsumeb Azurites is not only the superior crystal form, size and quality, but many of them are actually GEMMY, which is rare for Azurite in general, and this piece shows brilliant neon indigo colored flashes around the edges of the crystals when backlit. Very good quality all around, the only damage is on the edges where the piece was attached to pocket wall. A wonderful sample of these iconic Azurites from one of the premier mineral specimen-producing mines in history.
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 3061. Jack was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the world encompassing over 3,200 specimens with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece. He admired specimens of all sizes from thumbnails to large cabinets and the vast majority of them rank from fine to world-class in their quality.
Above all else, Jack is considered to be the greatest gentleman in the modern era of mineral collecting. He is beloved by all those who have met him, and he truly is one of the most iconic figures in the mineral world. We recently acquired Jack's collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality pieces for their collections. We are honored to have the opportunity to offer Jack's treasures to everyone on a regular basis in the auctions.
We encourage you to read our blog post at https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection or his profile on the Mineralogical Record website https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/halpernjack/ for more information