Descloizite (rare locality specimen)

Item Description

The finest Descloizite specimens in the world come from Namibia, namely the Berg Aukus Mine. This piece is from the lesser-known Abenab Mine which lies north of Berg Aukus, but did produce some attractive and unusual Descloizites in its day. This piece is a showy example featuring beautiful and notably unusually prismatic crystals of Descloizite which have grown in beautiful almost arborescent, branching, tree-like group, bordering on dendritic in their nature, but with larger more defined features. Each side of the specimen presents something different, and it's hard to say which side I prefer more as the "display side", as one of them has a beautiful uniform matte grey-brown hue, while the other side ranges in color from dark brown thicker prisms at the top, that transition into earthy yellow and greenish tones as you move towards the base of the piece. It's unlike any Descloizite I can remember seeing from any locality in Namibia, not just the Abenab Mine. The piece is in amazingly good condition, as most of the crystals are undamaged, even the smaller ones. A highly aesthetic, eye-catching and dare I say unique specimen of this already hard to find material.
om the collection of Robert (Bob) Reynolds. Bob was a well-known fossil and mineral expert and former Curator of Earth Sciences at the San Bernardino County Museum in California. The rare phyllomanganate-chromate species Reynoldsite was named in his honor in 2011. The piece is accompanied by a label from noted dealer/collector, Dick Bideaux.