Turquoise pseudomorph after Apatite (large specimen!)

Item Description

This locality is known for producing large amounts of massive Turquoise, which for many years was mined and then ground into a powder, combined with plaster and sold as "reconstituted" Turquoise that was polished and set into jewelry. The miners were completely unaware of the value in a specimen like this, which would have met the same fate as many before it, had we not intervened and liberated it from the crusher. I'm sure many of you are familiar with the classic pseudomorphs of Turquoise replacing Apatite from various localities in Sonora, Mexico, but these monster specimens from China have set a new standard for this beautiful and hard to find material. I have never seen anything this large and robust from any Mexican locality, though I can't say nothing like this was ever found there. With that said, this piece is a fantastic example of these odd pseudomorphs where one phosphate species replaced another. In this case Turquoise has completely taken over a preexisting crystal of Apatite while still preserving the original hexagonal shape and tapered pyramidal habit. The bright glowing blue color along with the well-preserved, fairly sharp crystal faces makes for an excellent big showy display piece of what are clearly the best examples of this material ever found. Valued at $4,000 for size, quality and the fact that they have set a new standard for these rare pseudomorphs.