Smoky Quartz with Muscovite

Item Description

Two gem smoky quartz crystals with fine color are aesthetically intergrown on this sculptural and uncommon quartz from the Fano Mine of Riverside County. The large crystal is 12.0 cm long and the other is 9.7 cm long. The very glassy and lustrous crystals are enhanced by the stepped-growth prism faces and the sharp terminations, that are nearly colorless and are translucent. The fields of ivory-colored muscovite plates on the back add contrast and color. Contacting on both crystals, where other crystals once lay, have minimal damage. The pegmatite is best known for Schorl and Aquamarine specimens, with smoky quartz pieces being uncommon. See the 2002 Mineralogical Record article in Vol. 33, No. 5. Ex Bob Reynolds Collection, a well-known fossil and mineral expert and curator of the San Bernardino County Museum. He passed away in 2020. A fine and shapely pair of smoky quartz crystals, probably from the 1980s and 1990s finds by Ken and Dana Gochenour.