Topaz (GEM quality) (94.10 grams) (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

A stellar, GEM quality, soft sherry colored, prismatic Topaz crystal from Mogok with textbook, razor-sharp faces of a highly reflective luster. The termination is pristine and shows beautiful modifying faces all over. On the reverse side of the crystal, there is a nick, but you can't see it when the piece is displayed. Also on the reverse side is a sub-surface fracture that is completely contained inside the crystal, and does not some to the surface. I'm simply amazed at show sharp, lustrous and WATER CLEAR this crystal is, as one rarely encounters GEM Topaz crystals like this with supremely well-formed faces and superb transparency. It's important to note that in my experience, the sherry colored crystals from Mogok do not seem to fade when exposed to light, but it's always a good idea to keep them out of the light (especially the sun) as much as possible just in case. Specimen weight is 94.10 grams. The piece is valued between $$2,500-$3,000. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #14230CL. Obtained at the TGMS auction in Tucson in 2000, originally from Pala International. Chet was born 1947 in started collecting minerals circa 1957. He worked briefly as a drill runner at the famous Sterling Mine, in Ogdensburg, New Jersey and from 1987 to 1990 he helped convert the mine into a public access mining museum. He has held the role of treasurer, vice president and president of the Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society (FOMS), and has been a board member and vice president of the Franklin Mineral Museum. The rare copper arsenate, Lemanskiite was named in his honor in 1999.