Quartz var: Smoky (''Gwindel'')

Item Description

A wonderful specimen of fine quality Smoky Quartz in the classic "Gwindel" (German word for "twist") habit from the Swiss Alps. The famous Göschener Tal (Göschener Valley) is one of the most well-known Swiss locales for fine Quartz specimens, and this piece is a great example of this famous material as it is features richly colored (nearly "Morion") crystals with high luster and good internal gemminess. When the piece is backlit, it shows a gorgeous cognac hue. The fact that it is so transparent really helps the color glow inside. The "Gwindel" is associated with handful of single prismatic crystals, and you can see there is a slight "twist" to the "Gwindel" when viewed from above. Now the piece is not damage free, there are some tiny nicks on the terminations, but the internal gemminess and rich color make up for it in my mind. From the personal collection of Richard ("Rich") A. Kosnar, the well-known mineral dealer and collector from Colorado (1946-2007). Rich was the namesake for the rare zirconium phosphate mineral, Kosnarite, and was an avid collector of European Alpine minerals.