Quartz var. Amethyst

Item Description

Attractive and sharp, this single Amethyst crystal is unusual for what you commonly see from Inner Mongolia, or most of China for that matter. Doubly-terminated and 5.2 cm long, the crystal grades from light purple at one end to an exceptionally rich purple. The glassy luster of the faces and gemminess of the main termination really accentuate this deep purple color, and the asymmetrical form of the Amethyst is also out of the ordinary. One small side is partially contacted, and the main face has on small ding on it, but these have little effect on the aesthetics. The way the crystal sits perfectly in the middle of the matrix, as well as the high luster and notably vibrant color, truly make this a distinctive large-cabinet specimen. From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl, a well-known German collector all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started collecting seriously at the age of 14 and his great and varied worldwide collection reached over 6000 pieces. We shoudl add that, while we have not seen any of this material in comporary China, Kurt bought earlier and from some of the first export sources to the West in the early 1900s - way earlier than we started - and had very old and unusual material from China I have not seen turn up anywhere else. It looks like Daye, Hubei amethyst from modern era finds, but we also know that Daye was not exporting much to the specimen market at the time, either. So, it is likely a locality we never really saw much from, and we are inclined to believe his careful archival information on locations from those days before MINDAT. Kurt had a suite of material from this location, including a chalcedony in this auction, which we presume he bought from a single dealer long ago.