Topaz (gemmy crystal) (ex Dave Bergman Collection)

Item Description

A wonderful thumbnail sized specimen of VERY gemmy Topaz specimen from Pakistan. For a few decades, Dassu 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 1980s and is a very sharp, lustrous, prismatic crystal of Topaz with excellent transparency in areas. The color is a light sherry hue, but please note that these crystals can turn colorless with exposure to light, so we encourage you to keep it in closed dark box as much as possible to retain the color. The termination features superb quality, well-formed faces which are smooth, glassy and undamaged. The only roughness is on the base where the piece detached from the pocket wall. The piece honestly looks better in person than the photos might indicate. You don't see nearly as many of these pieces from Pakistan on the market as compared to several years ago, and a showy piece like this is certainly desirable from this well-known locale in the high mountains of Pakistan. A fantastic gem crystal display specimen for any collector. 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".