Chrysoberyl (unusual twin)

Item Description

Chrysoberyl is a well-known gem species, and some of the finest and most recognizable crystals are those from Espirito Santo in southeastern Brazil. The majority of specimens you'll encounter from this area are twinned, typically showing either the "sixling"/"trilling" habit or the "V"-shaped form, but this piece shows an unusual style with a larger predominant crystal and a smaller twinned "wing" flaring off the side. This full-sized thumbnail has a nice combination of colors with a rich honey golden hue in the center and a lighter yellow shade on the exterior. The piece has excellent luster and fine gemminess when backlit. No damage to the top of the piece, but it's contacted on the base where it was separated from the pocket wall. Mined in the 1980s. A really eye-catching and certainly unusual example that would make a nice addition to a thumbnail suite, a gem crystal collection or a Brazilian mineral collection. This piece comes from the personal collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman, the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. Dave is now retired from mining, but he worked for decades in various mines underground in Colorado, as a miner, mechanic, engineer, shift boss and foreman. His biggest claim to fame is that he was the foreman and the primary person in charge of mining and specimen recovery at the Sweet Home Mine in Colorado in the 1970s alongside his son-in-law, Rich Kosnar. This project what was the FIRST ever operation for specimen recovery at this historic locality. A full-page photograph of Dave can be seen mining underground at the Sweet Home in on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".