Quartz with Montmorillionite inclusions

Item Description

Remarkable and very aesthetic large combination from the famous White Queen Mine. The mine is famous for gorgeous vivid pink morganite crystals and for exotic quartz crystals included with pink and tan montmorillionite clay. This remarkable and very aesthetic specimen is highlighted by a striking, dramatically well-placed, 7.8 cm, lustrous, translucent, pristine, doubly terminated quartz crystal included with pink montmorillionite. Smaller quartz crystals below, both included and un-included are a very fine accent and complement. The sculptural underlying matrix plate is densely intergrown, glassy, grayish-blue, cleavelandite blades. Located in 1901, intermittent production occurred until the early 1960s, when a road was built to the pegmatite. Norm Dawson recovered tons of striking included quartz crystals and many kilograms of fine morganites between the early 1960s and early 1990s. The mine reverted to the Pala Indian tribe in 1992 (MINDAT). See MINDAT: https://www.mindat.org/loc-4459.html and the 2002 Mineralogical Record issue, Vol. 33, No. 5 for more information on the mine. From the Bill Larson Quartz collection case, of approximately 250 specimens, which we bought in 2023. It was a long-term, very diverse mix on display for decades at the Pala International shop as an educational and fun exhibit. It was started back in the late 1970s. An exceptional and very artistic montmorillionite-included quartz on cleavelandite from the noted locale.