Dioptase (ex Willard Wulff Collection)

Item Description

A wonderful old time classic example of Tsumeb Dioptase dating back 50+ years. This specimen hosts dozens of highly lustrous, sharp, trigonal emerald green prismatic crystals measuring up to 1.3 cm on minor matrix. It's a very sculptural specimen with a central vug loaded with crystals. Some minor spherical groups of soft blue Plancheite can be seen for a nice touch, an uncommon association from Tsumeb. Yes, there is some peripheral roughness where the piece was removed from the pocket wall, but it's a beautiful representation of the old classics from Tsumeb. This piece comes from the collection of Willard W. Wulff (1904-1998) of Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was a prominent figure and collector of Colorado minerals. Wulff was one of the founding members of the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society in 1936. This specimen comes with one of his iconic 3x5 index card labels, along with a label from the cabinet display (specimen #700). You can read Willard's bio on the Mineralogical Record website here ( http://www.minrec.org/labels.asp?colid=1528 ).