Gold (WIRES !) on Quartz (ex Hauck Collection)

Item Description

A gorgeous miniature specimen featuring rarely seen beautiful "wires" of Gold on grey Quartz matrix from Grass Valley. It could be argued that wire Gold is the most sought after habit for the species, as its arguably the rarest habit around the world. Grass Valley is known for producing a wide variety of habits or "styles" of Gold, but wires are exceptionally hard to find. This specimen features several groups comprising rather thin, yet densely packed clusters of Gold wires with a brilliant color and luster. Upon close inspection you can see that the wires show minor crystalline form on the surface, and some of them actually transition into actual crystallized Gold in certain areas. My favorite wire group on the specimen is featured in the first photo, as it has a truly organic appearance, resembling in my mind a group of seaweed roots, but fans of the show Stranger Things might be able to see a similarity to the Mind Flayer monster. If you look closely you can see that the top of that group has an interesting crystallized "stem" from which all the other wires grew. We took several micro photos with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality of the Gold. Some of the wire groups are quite similar to the famous "wire patch" Golds from Breckenridge, Colorado, while others honestly remind me of native Silver more than Gold in terms of their physical appearance. A rich specimen with a gorgeous habit that would make a superb addition to any collection of Gold, native elements or minerals of California. The piece comes with a label from The Mineral Gallery, and was originally part of the Richard Hauck collection. Valued at $4,500.