Beryl var. Heliodor

Item Description

This item is part of a special benefit auction for the Rice Museum of Rocks & Minerals (ricenorthwestmuseum.org). Items are either deaccessions from the museum's collection or were donated by generous supporters listed below.

Auction open April 1, 2021 through April 17, 2021.

Billing for this auction will occur on Monday, April 19, for payment using PayPal or credit card. Shipping will be billed at cost, or please contact brandy@mineralauctions.com if you'd like to plan on picking up items at future shows or during a stop through Dallas.

A true classic and unusually fine example for the size range, of the gem heliodors that stunned the western world when barriers fell and these started being exported as specimens in the late 1980s, when the Rices purchased their example here for the museum. While the museum retains a larger example, this is a VERY fine specimen in the size range most of us collect and love. It is GEM: It is complete, pristine, perfect 360 degrees around. This is not just a "gemmy" heliodor crystal, it is rather a "GEM CRYSTAL" in a literal sense that it is cuttable throughout. The complex patterning is mesmerizing, and only more so on close inspection. Photos are difficult, because it is so 100% transparent, and the camera has trouble focusing. 68 grams. Crystals like this are easily valued in the $10-15,000 range for this quality and perfection. While modern production does come out, they are simply not as sharp as this and, unusually, most are simply too big for the collector and have to be sold as gem rough because they are just so big and gemmy that few collectors will pay the price for what is essentially cutting rough. This size, it is much more manageable - but older and uncommon in quality. We will donate a custom lucite base to the winner, so this can stand safely and vertically for display.