Topaz (GEM ''ice'' crystal) (ex Dave Bergman Collection)

Item Description

A superb small cabinet sized specimen of GEM QUALITY "ice" Topaz specimen from Brazil. For many decades, Brazil has produced some of the finest Topaz specimens from any locality in the world in terms of color, crystal form, quality size and gemminess. This gorgeous specimen was mined in the late 1970s and is a sharp, lustrous attractive prismatic crystal of Topaz with WATER CLEAR transparency in areas. The color is a VERY pale "ice" blue shade, and there is a slightly richer blue "core" at the lower central portion of the piece which is notably stronger than the rest of the crystal , but it's nearly colorless for all intents and purposes at the exterior edges. You can see the nearly all sides have wonderful, eye-catching, graceful hydrothermal etching, creating a lovely ethereal appearance all over the specimen. The only roughness is on the base where the piece detached from the pocket wall, but you can't see it when the piece is displayed. The piece honestly looks better in person than the photos might indicate. You don't see nearly as many of these pieces from Brazil on the market as compared to several years ago, and a showy piece like this is certainly desirable fro any fan of gem crystals, pegmatite minerals or specimens from Brazil. A fantastic gem crystal display specimen for any collector. Specimen weight = 184.19 grams. From the collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman. Dave is now retired, but among other things, he was the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado during the late 1970s. He is also the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. See Dave's photo mining at the Sweet Home on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures". Retail price on this one is $4,500.