Sphalerite & Calcite on Quartz

Item Description

Splendent, gemmy to translucent, rootbeer-brown sphalerite crystals to 1.7 cm are aesthetically scattered and clustered with glassy, flattened calcite rhombs on the very sculptural, vuggy quartz matrix. There are two generations of quartz. The earliest is the rust-red quartz, which is festooned with tiny, sparkly, colorless, second generation quartz points. The striking platy, bulging back really adds character to this fine and aesthetic, two-sided rib. This is very showy and excellent combination material from the Shuikoushan Mine of China. These sphalerites are considered to be some of the finest in the world. Very little new material has come out recently and this very fine piece is essentially pristine. The backlit photos highlight the beautiful color saturation and gemminess of some of these crystals.