Dioptase (new find) (large crystal)

Item Description

This specimen was collected in January of 2011, so it literally just came out of the ground. Dioptase is known from a few world localities in superb quality specimens, but recently there was a find of new material in the Pool Region of the Republic of Congo. These specimens show great color, with larger sized crystals, and in some cases, EXCELLENT gemminess. This particular specimen is a large, predominant, very sharp, lustrous, rich emerald green color Dioptase crystal forming a very attractive overall miniature specimen. When backlit, you can see that the crystal has decent gemminess, but it's the size of the crystal that makes it such a special Dioptase. Despite a bit of roughness, it's still an impressive Dioptase crystal from any locality as it's a full 1.5 inches in length! This find seemed to be somewhat limited, and hopefully will produce more of this great quality Dioptase. With the price of Tsumeb Dioptase specimens rising daily, this is a great opportunity to snag a "Tsumeb"-type quality specimen of this species for a fraction of the price. Difficult to photograph, and perhaps better in person.