Azurite (large crystals - classic material)

Item Description

The Tsumeb Mine is arguably the world's most famous mineral locality. As of the time of this posting, nearly 350 minerals have been found there, but it's not just the sheer number of species that Tsumeb produced, it's the fact that the vast majority of them are the best or nearly the best examples of their respective species ever found. Certainly the Azurites from this mine are in the highest echelon for the species, as they are some of the largest and finest quality crystals ever seen. This piece is an impressive group of very good sized, sharp, lustrous, well-formed, broad tabular blades with a deep midnight blue color, which are starting to alter to green Malachite in a few spots, creating a beautiful and classic combination of colors. The piece is in great condition, with no major damage, outside of the peripheral edges where it was separated from the pocket wall. Azurite crystals this size are not commonly seen from any locality, and Tsumeb is one of the few to produce not only big crystals of Azurite, but fine quality to boot. This piece is accompanied by a label from Luís Leite (1942–1999), the Portuguese-South African amateur mineralogist from Pretoria, South Africa, who many years ago discovered a rare mineral from Tsumeb that would go to be named in his honor: Leiteite.
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 2408. 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