Cornetite on Malachite (1990s)

Item Description

A fine African cornetite specimen such as this really still sets a high standard for the species, despite that they were found in the 1990s and nothing of this magnitude has been found since anywhere. This is a large, rich, glistening plate with thousands of tiny crystals arranged like a carpet upon rolling malachite matrix. It is big, showy, 3-dimensional! Such specimens are usually valued $5-10,000 when they do turn up. All, though not most, were bought out to Tucson in the late 1990s by old Belgian dealer Gilbert Gauthier. He stored some there, which turned up later after he passed away and the long paid storage unit turned up for sale around 2012 in Tucson. But certainly, no more have been found of this magnitude and this is a large, important, beautiful display piece.