Azurite (superb luster)

Item Description

The Milpillas Mine will go down as one of the most significant Azurite producers in history. The best pieces stand among the finest examples from places like Tsumeb, Touissit or Bisbee. This piece features superb quality, razor sharp, HIGHLY lustrous, deep blue, thick, blocky crystals of Azurite measuring up to a full 3.7 cm with very minor associated Malachite and matrix on the reverse side. The Azurite crystals are slightly gemmy near the edges when backlit. Now the piece is not 100% perfect, as there are a coupld obvious contacts, but not what I would call genuine damage, as one spot is simply a pocket scar where it was attached to the host rock, and the other two major spots are simply areas where two crystals were intergrown and separated. What I'm trying to say is that the piece is not bashed up, but the crystals are not pristine either. You can see some minor "chipping" here and there, but overall it's still very good quality and impressive for the species and the locality. I can say that if the piece were perfect, it would easily be priced at $6,000-$7,000 retail, but we decided to list in the auction here with a low $249 starting price as it was valued at $1,250 in the inventory. Keep in mind that this material will only increase in value as the years go by, especially now that we're told the locality is finished producing this material.