Vivianite (classic material)

Item Description

A showy display piece is from the famed Morococala Mine in Bolivia, one of the most well-known Vivianite localities in the entire country. Back in the early 1980's this mine produced some of the largest and most spectacular Vivianite specimens ever found. I have been told stories that there were plates of crystals just pouring out of the mine for a brief period of time. Then, the mine manager decided that the miners were too distracted collecting Vivianite and not attending to their duties underground, so he decided to blow up the entire section of the mine where the Vivianite was being collected, thus greatly limiting the number of specimens that would make their way to the market. This piece features a pair of lustrous, sharp, prismatic, gemmy, deep emerald green crystal of Vivianite with very minor attached matrix. The luster is higher than most you'll find from this mine, as they can be somewhat dull. The size and quality is excellent for this locality, and very attractive from the display side. These pieces are no longer being mined and they are incredibly difficult to find on the market today. Don't let this great, old display specimen slip away. With backlighting, the piece shows good internal gemminess, but it's very dark on the surface in reflected light. Valued $3,000.
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 3279. Jack was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the world encompassing over 3,200 specimens with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece. He admired specimens of all sizes from thumbnails to large cabinets and the vast majority of them rank from fine to world-class in their quality.
Above all else, Jack is considered to be the greatest gentleman in the modern era of mineral collecting. He is beloved by all those who have met him, and he truly is one of the most iconic figures in the mineral world. We recently acquired Jack's collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality pieces for their collections. We are honored to have the opportunity to offer Jack's treasures to everyone on a regular basis in the auctions.
We encourage you to read our blog post at https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection or his profile on the Mineralogical Record website https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/halpernjack/ for more information