Dioptase with Mimetite

Item Description

Dioptase has one of the most distinctive colors in the mineral world, unlike almost any other species. It is almost universally beloved by dealers and collectors, but the one problem with the species is that there aren't too many world localities that produce excellent specimens. Obviously Tsumeb is the world's greatest locality for the species, but it's been decades since anything has been found, so any time a new locality produces anything of note, it gets attention. These pieces from Republic of Congo are honestly a bit different from most of the pieces that we've handled from this locality in the past. Instead of large individual crystals, you can see beautiful clusters of Dioptase on off-white Calcite on oxidized matrix. The color of the Dioptase crystals shows that classic emerald green hue, and they are highly lustrous and gemmy showing textbook prismatic trigonal form, but what really sets them off is the many small brilliant orange-yellow crystals of Mimetite (confirmed by analysis) underneath. We took some micro photos with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality of the Dioptase and Mimetite crystals. You can see that the Mimetites are actually pyramidal in habit, which is not common in our experience. The contrast between the Dioptase and the Mimetites is wonderful. PLEASE NOTE: We've listed some of these pieces i the past as Dioptase with WULFENITE, which was also confirmed by analysis, and it appears that both species are present at this locality. The piece is in very good shape and it's a lot fun to view under the microscope. We all know that the prices for Tsumeb Dioptase specimens are on the rise, but you can pick up this attractive "Tsumeb-esque" specimen for a great price, with an association that is rarely seen around the world. This piece is from a discovery in January of 2019. I will point out that these specimens were originally reported as coming from the Mpita Mine, but they are indeed from Ntola. Valued $2,500.