Calcite

Item Description

For many years, the Tonglushan Mine has produced some beautiful mineral specimens. I'm sure experienced collectors will remember the gorgeous specimens of Amethyst and Malachite that came from this copper/iron deposit, and the most famous contemporary specimens are the beautiful spherical iridescent Chalcopyrites that we imported a few years ago. In the earlier days of specimen production, most people remember the beautiful Calcites that poured out of this mine for a few years. Now the Calcites are scarce on the market, and to the best of my knowledge, nothing new has been found. This piece is a gorgeous full cabinet sized display piece hosting many superb quality, razor-sharp, lustrous, GEMMY, colorless trigonal crystals of Calcite measuring up to 4.8 cm on edge sitting on a beautifully contrasting matrix of a rich orange hue. The orange color in the matrix is mostly likely due to the presence of an iron oxide species like Hematite. If you look closely, you'll see there are varying morphologies of Calcite on the piece, some are more triangular in shape, other look more stout, but my favorite crystal is the excellent TWIN that is easy to miss unless you know what you're looking at. We've illustrated the twin in the last 2 photos, where you can clearly see the reentrant angle. The piece is in fine condition, with only a little roughness around the periphery. A wonderful example of these classic, high quality and just plain gorgeous Calcites. Please note that this piece has a saw mark on the back. Priced in our inventory at $5,000. Ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection. 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.