Imperial Topaz (rare locality)

Karengerenge village, Solwezi District, North-Western Prov., Zambia
Thumbnail, 2.2 x 0.8 x 0.6 cm, 4.5 grams
Start Time: 09/28/2023 6:45:00 pm (CDT)
End Time: 10/05/2023 6:45:00 pm (CDT)
Auction Closed
Winning Bid: $121
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Item Description

The most famous crystals of Imperial Topaz are the excellent examples from Ouro Preto, Brazil. For a long time there were no other major localities that produced much in the way of Imperial Topaz, but circa 2009, there was a discovery of some attractive and fine quality crystals from a new locality in Zambia. We got a good parcel of these attractive new crystals from our friend in Tucson, who is personally collecting them. They are notably similar to the Brazilian crystals in both color and habit, but I can say that some of these Zambian crystals are actually gemmier than many I've seen from Brazil. The reason you don't see any many gem quality Brazilian crystals is because a large percentage of them are faceted into gemstones, but our friend in Zambian didn't want to butcher good crystals. This piece is a fine, sharp, lustrous, light orange color crystal with decent internal gemminess areas. The piece has a classic "chisel"-shaped termination just like the Brazilian crystals. There is a chip on one side on the edge, so it's not damage free, but it's still a lovely example of these attractive and exciting new crystals. Specimen weight is 4.5 grams.

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Bidding History

Bid Amount Bid Time
$121 10/04/2023 5:50:15 pm (CDT)
$111 * 10/04/2023 5:50:06 pm (CDT)
$111 * 10/04/2023 5:50:06 pm (CDT)
$99 10/04/2023 12:25:26 am (CDT)
$89 10/03/2023 9:14:13 am (CDT)
$87 10/03/2023 9:14:13 am (CDT)
$77 10/02/2023 6:13:36 pm (CDT)
$67 10/02/2023 6:13:36 pm (CDT)
$62 10/02/2023 6:12:56 pm (CDT)
$52 10/02/2023 6:12:56 pm (CDT)
$42 09/30/2023 4:54:20 pm (CDT)
$37 09/30/2023 4:54:19 pm (CDT)
$25 09/29/2023 2:20:48 am (CDT)
$20 09/29/2023 2:20:48 am (CDT)
$15 09/28/2023 9:17:29 pm (CDT)
$10 09/28/2023 8:30:28 pm (CDT)
* Proxy Bid Battle: In the event of two customers inputting matching proxy bids, the leading bid goes to the earliest of the two proxy bids. Tie winners are shown in bold.