Opal (multicolor) (RARE LOUISIANA locality!)

Item Description

It's incredibly rare to find these desirable and remarkably elusive Opals from Louisiana on the market. I've seen them sometimes labeled as "Sand Opal", but they are essentially multi-color Precious Opal, which remind one of certain pieces from Australia, but with a distinctiveness all their own. This polished stone is a wonderful example of these hard to find Opals featuring brilliant flashes of electric green and blue on one side, and predominantly purple flashes on the reverse side when the piece is rotated in direct light. There are some hints of warmer orange and yellow flashes on the front side, but you need to view the piece at a sharp angle to see them. The brilliant colors play beautifully against the silvery-grey sandstone background. A fantastic example of these virtually unseen Opals from a notably obscure and unlikely locality in Louisiana. In all my years of dealing in minerals and gems, this might only be the SECOND example of this material that we've ever had to offer. Please note, this stone is labeled as coming from "near Toledo Bend", which is a reservoir on the border of Louisiana and Texas, and is relatively close to the Hidden Fire Opal Mine in Vernon Parish. The label also indicates that the stone was found in the Catahoula Formation. Valued at $3,500 retail for the size, quality, color and the RARE locality. From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio, who acquired the piece from the Mineralogical Record benefit auction in Tucson many years ago. This husband and wife duo were actively involved in the mineral world for many decades. Bill was a PhD geologist, and Anne was a mathematician, and they both were very serious mineral collectors. Bill served for many years as adjunct curator of mineralogy at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the Micromounters' Hall of Fame on October 12, 2019. Both Bill and Anne, at various times, served as president both of the Mineralogical Society of Cleveland and of the Micromineral Society of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the mi The rare barium lithium beryllium phosphate Wilancookite was named in their honor in 2015.