Beryl var: Aquamarine

Item Description

The famed Pingwu Mine in Sichuan, China is certainly one of the most distinctive localities in the entire country. Since the late 1990s, this tungsten-tin-beryllium mine has been providing collectors with signature mineral specimens, that are some of the best from any Chinese mine. One of the most coveted minerals from this mine are the unusually thick tabular crystals of Beryl (Aquamarine and Goshenite). This small cabinet display specimen is filled with excellent, very sharp, highly lustrous, gemmy, pale blue tabular hexagonal crystals measuring up to 2.7 cm across, which are rather thick for the material. It's rare to find tabular Aquamarine from any locality, most of the time Aquas are thin prisms. The crystals on this piece are in great shape, with no major damage I can find on the top/display side. Overall it's a very presentable and eye-catching example of these easily recognizable Aquamarine crystals from this prestigious locality. Valued $1,500.
From the collection of Dr. Stephen Smale. Along with amassing one of the finest private mineral collections in the world, Steve is a renowned mathematician. His accomplishments include being awarded the Fields Medal in 1966 along with being the awarded the Wolf Prize in mathematics in 2007. You can read Steve's bio on the Mineralogical Record website ( https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/smalestephen/ ) or on Wikipedia.