Neptunite on Natrolite

Item Description

Sublime choice miniature specimen from the famous California State Gem Mine, known for its Neptunites as well as its Benitoites. This superb, small miniature is dominated by a sharp, lustrous, and textbook 1.9 cm Neptunite crystal that rises above the white Natrolite and country rock. The luster and form are excellent, and there is even some of the rust-colored fire in the Neptunites that you sometimes see with just the right light. There are also over a half-dozen smaller and lustrous Neptunites scattered on the white Natrolite. The balance and aesthetics of this miniature are first-rate. Now that the deposit is literally strip-mined and gone, no more specimens of this caliber can come from the ground as they did, sporadically, over many years. Formerly in the extensive collection of W & A Cook.