Chalcedony (classic material) (ex Brian Lloyd Specimen)

Item Description

Chalcedony / Agate from Idar-Oberstein are some of the most iconic and classic specimens from Germany. This renowned gem and gem carving producing district was first famous for its eye-catching agates and agate carving there has a long tradition which continues to this day. This attractive miniature display specimen is not your typical banded Agate, but rather a semi-botryoidal group of somewhat resinous, rich brick red colored Chalcedony free of matrix. The piece has a bit of a Carnelian quality to it, but honestly there are so many terms for cryptocrystalline / uncrystallized Quartz, some of them bleed into each other. Good quality all around, and a nice example of the material from Idar-Oberstein. The piece comes from Brian Lloyd of London, one of the preeminent European mineral dealers. Among other accomplishments, Brian was responsible for bringing the Sir Robert Ferguson collection to market, along with the Joseph Neeld collection (1789-1856) in 1974 and the historic gold collection of H.S. Gordon. Brian famously purchased the historic dealership formerly known as J.R. Gregory & Company - today known as Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd. The catalogue number on this specimen is 2299. The label states that it is almost surely from Andreasberg for reference.