Gold on Quartz

Item Description

From old finds of the 1990s that really surprised the mineral world, these gorgeous elongated gold crystals perched on quartz plates have not been seen in ages. This is an old specimen that I first handled in the late 1990s and came back to me after being in the Mark Weill and Mitch Bernardi Collections. It is one I always remembered for its simple elegance, as many of these have "nests" of small wires and crystals upon them; but this has a cleaner, more nuanced aesthetic with isolated gold wires and a single elongated crystal of 3.25 cm. That large crystal is a spinel twin, complete, on matrix! This is super rare for the mine, where most of them form as smaller crystals in nested arrangements, sometimes on matrix. It looks fragile, but it is sturdier than it looks. A USA classic, and of good size and large impact. Originally obtained from a large lot sold by miners to Scott Kleine back at that time, and trimmed radically from a large block of matrix. It was said to have been published, although I am not sure where at this moment; but it does come from the personal collection of Scott Kleine, who handled a large number of these at the time. Again, while we have seen specimens with richer coverage, more was not necessarily better. This piece looks surreal, sculpted, man-made by placing the gold on the quartz - but is entirely natural! Valued $15,000-plus.