Muscovite (superb locality specimen) with Topaz

Item Description

Muscovite is a common Mica species, but you don't see a lot of fine quality display specimens from many localities. This piece is without question the finest specimen of Muscovite that we've ever had to offer from Mogok or anywhere else in Myanmar (Burma). It's not only a highly aesthetic display specimen, but the crystals are large, well-formed and excellent quality. They show a pseudo-metallic, rich bronze color in reflected light, and fairly decent translucency when backlit. The textbook hexagonal form combined with the impressive thickness of the Muscovite crystals is certainly noteworthy and the fact that they are free-standing on the underlying feldspar matrix is a big deal, as Mica crystals like this are often found lying "flat" against the matrix. To top it off, the piece hosts several gemmy, sharp, lustrous, colorless crystals of Topaz at the base of the Muscovites for a wonderful association. The largest Muscovite measures 3.8 cm across, and the largest Topaz measures 1.1 cm long. No major damage anywhere that I can see, just some minor roughness around the base where the piece was removed from the pocket wall. Overall, it's a truly impressive and superb quality example of Muscovite and if you're a fan of minerals from Myanmar, this one is a big deal for what it is. Priced at $3,000 retail. PLEASE NOTE: All mining at Mogok is at a complete standstill. The combination of the civil war in Myanmar and the COVID pandemic have left the area abandoned, and it is unclear when or if mining will again resume. With that said, it is likely that the price of fine minerals from Myanmar will certainly rise in the coming months / years, especially if nothing new will be coming out any time soon, and even when the mining resumes, the asking prices overseas will almost certainly be higher than what we were used to seeing in the past. If you collect minerals from Myanmar, pick these up fast while they are still available, because good pieces will be hard to find for a while it seems.