Plancheite with Dioptase and Calcite

Item Description

A really showy and certainly attractive combination display specimen featuring several good sized radial "balls" of Plancheite measuring up to 1.7 cm across which show a soft grey-blue color on the exterior, but reveal a vivid glowing blue color internally sitting on a matrix composed of intense emerald green, trigonal crystals of Dioptase along with almost massive / uncrystallized, waxy, grey-white colored Calcite. If you look at the piece from a certain angle, the vitreous luster of the Calcite almost resembles the moving water of a cascading waterfall! The right most Plancheite sphere is contacted, while the others are pristine, but were it not for the contact, we wouldn't know the beautifully internal color of these "balls". If you look closely, you can see many tiny, DEEP BLUE colored "sprays" of Plancheite (or possibly Shattuckite) around the central portion of the specimen. The reverse side of the piece features thin bands of a pale greenish-blue colored mineral which I thought could be possibly Chrysocolla{?}, but the species is not reported from the Tantara Mine. This is without a doubt one of the most attractive specimens of this material, and what I really like most about this piece is the fact that each species stands out on its own, giving the specimen character and depth. Additionally, it's incredibly difficult to find ISOLATED SPHERES of Plancheite like this on Dioptase from any locality, especially "balls" this size from the Tantara Mine. Priced in the inventory at $5,000. PLEASE NOTE: The base for this specimen states that this this piece is from the Star of the Congo Mine (Republic of Congo - formerly Zaire), which at the time we thought to be valid, but have since realized that it is clearly from the Tantara Mine in Democratic Republic of Congo.