Topaz (RARE locality specimen) (ex Bill Larson Collection)

Item Description

This locality is named for its beautiful Aquamarine crystals, but very little was ever available on the market until the last few years when a handful of people elected to use large track-hoes instead of smaller hand tools and jack-hammers. I've only seen a select few Topaz crystals over the years from this locality, and this one really stands out as it features rather sharp (for the locality) crystals faces, as the few I've actually handled have been fairly etched, leaving little crystal faces behind. While there is a slight amount of graceful hydrothermal etching on the surface, there are some faces that are completely smooth and untouched. The crystals is a very pale blue color (nearly colorless), and shows good internal translucency when backlit. If you collect gem crystals, worldwide Topaz or minerals of California, do NOT miss out on this attractive and hard to find specimen from this pegmatite locality in San Bernardino County (the single largest county in the United States - roughly the size of West Virginia). The piece is valued at $1,500 in our inventory. From the collection of Bill Larson of Fallbrook, California. Bill is a well-known gem and mineral dealer as well as a miner and collector. Bill is synonymous with minerals of San Diego County, and owned and operated famous mines such as the Stewart Lithia, the Tourmaline Queen, the Pala Chief and the Himalaya, producing some of the most iconic mineral specimens to come out of the area during the 1970s-1980s. You can read his biography at https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/larsonwilliam-f/