Bournonite ("cogwheels") on Pyrite

Item Description

One of the few MATRIX "cogwheel" specimens of Bournonite that I have offered from Bolivia in the auctions for a while. This piece features an attractive, metallic, grey color, "cogwheel"-shaped crystal group measuring 3.1 cm across with accenting smaller Bournonites aesthetically sitting on Pyrite and Sphalerite matrix. The Bournonite is undamaged as far as I can see with the naked eye, though a few spots on the matrix are contacted. This specimen is from a find in 2008 in Bolivia. This one is better than the majority I've handled from Machacamarca. Strangely, the Bolivian Bournonite "cogwheels" are priced significantly lower than their contemporary Chinese counterparts, and a piece like this from Machacamarca is very difficult to find, so I hold it in high regard in terms of value. We had this piece priced at $1200 in the inventory.