Corundum var: Sapphire

Item Description

This locality has existed since the 1950s (mindat), but specimens really didn't show up on the market until the early 2000s when Federico Pezzotta and Rakotonoel (a local mineral collector/dealer) decided to exploit a few zones within the quarry for these iconic Sapphire crystals. These are certainly the best examples of crystallized Sapphire from any locality in Madagascar, for the fact that they are often notably well-formed, with fine colors and they're on matrix, which is not common for Malagasy Sapphires. For both size and quality, this is one of the very best examples of these specimens. This full cabinet sized piece features an excellent quality, sharp, lustrous, prismatic, doubly-terminated hexagonal crystal measuring to 4.1 cm at its longest dimension, perched smartly on black Phlogopite matrix. The color is a rich blue-purple shade on the exterior, which shifts to a pinkish-purple hue in the center. There is a secondary Sapphire lower down on the piece that also shows a combination of pink and purple hues. . Some of these specimens show an obvious color change from indoor lighting to sunlight, but I can't see much of a change in this piece. It is one of the best pieces of this material that I have offered in the auctions, and is rather aesthetic to boot ! Valued $7,500.
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 3484. Jack was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the world encompassing over 3,200 specimens with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece. He admired specimens of all sizes from thumbnails to large cabinets and the vast majority of them rank from fine to world-class in their quality.
Above all else, Jack is considered to be the greatest gentleman in the modern era of mineral collecting. He is beloved by all those who have met him, and he truly is one of the most iconic figures in the mineral world. We recently acquired Jack's collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality pieces for their collections. We are honored to have the opportunity to offer Jack's treasures to everyone on a regular basis in the auctions.
We encourage you to read our blog post at https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection or his profile on the Mineralogical Record website https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/halpernjack/ for more information