Dioptase on Plancheite

Item Description

Like green Christmas cookie sprinkles, tiny Dioptase crystals richly and colorfully accent Plancheite coated Quartz on this lovely miniature. This piece is quite the "show-stopper" in a case with its with its plethora of brighter than emerald green, 1 to 2 mm, glistening Dioptase crystals strewn loosely and in patches on the vibrant pale blue-green Plancheite surface that is composed of a myriad of micro-crystals that coat the surface of massive quartz matrix. The backside reveals the light smoky gray color of the somewhat milky Quartz. An incredibly well-balanced and colorful piece from Tsumeb! In fact, it is SO remarkable and unusual for Tsumeb, that we are taking the step of changing the old label and going with Kaokoveld, Namibia, on this one. We suspect it is actually a very early Kaokoveld piece. The matrix is just too unusual, too much quartz, for Tsumeb - and a dead ringer for Kaok material. This is a judgement call. Kaokoveld material was very rare in the 1970s and 1980s when Dr. Pohl bought this, but it is quite likely that the piece entered the food chain through markets and shops in Tsumeb, and before we had MINDAT and the web to compare things so easily, such mistakes persevered.