Beryl var: Aquamarine

Item Description

A remarkable, big robust Aquamarine crystal, labeled as coming from the Chia Mine (though I cannot find a confirmation of Beryl actually occurring at this locality), but we're simply leaving it as coming from São José da Safira. It's one of the best Aquas we've had to offer from the area with regard to size, color and quality. It's not a pale blue color, but a much more saturated hue with a slight greenish overtone, and it's rather gemmy in the center when backlit. The most impressive aspect is that all of the prism faces long with the basal pinacoid termination are incredibly smooth, sharp, well-formed and highly lustrous. No etching anywhere, it's a textbook hexagonal crystal, and it's hefty weighing in at a whopping 764 grams. When the crystal is viewed down the "c" axis, you can see some color zoning, as the central portion has the richer color, with a lighter blue-white shade around the periphery. This one dates back to the 1970s era of mining in Brazil, and you have to remember that it was a major specimen back in the day, as it predated anything from Pakistan, Afghanistan or Erongo. It's also important to note that before those other countries started producing specimens, nearly all of the Aquamarine crystals on the market were loose singles off matrix, so this piece was a significant and important crystal back in the day. Additionally, I will say that most Aquas from Brazil show some kind of etching on the surface, sometimes to the point where there are not discernible crystal faces remaining, so a complete euhedral example like this with such brilliantly sharp and lustrous faces is still considered rare and impressive from any Brazilian locality. A fantastic old-time gem crystal with no major damage, only one small nice where the termination meets one of the prism faces. Valued $9,000-$12,000
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 1354. 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