Large, natural nodule of Opal var. Fire Opal. Within the nodule is transparent reddish-brown Opal with incredible flashes of brilliant red, orange, blue, green and yellow. I’m awfully tempted to cut it in half and polish both halves, but for now I’ll leave it...

A superb large specimen of lustrous, white bladed Albite hosting numerous hexagonal crystals of silvery Muscovite Mica, with the focal cluster featuring several large, intergrown Muscovite hexagonal crystals. The luster, symmetry and contrast is amazing, and the Muscovite crystal centerpiece really stands out! In...

A superb specimen of numerous, lustrous, highly translucent fan-shaped clusters of Hemimorphite crystals on a contrasting red-brown Limonite matrix. The large Hemimorphite fan-shaped crystals are some of the nicest I’ve seen. A really nice piece in excellent condition. Location: Mina La Ojuela, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico...

A perfectly centered single crystal of indigo-blue Lazurite, a highly sought after gemstone, in contrasting white marble. The Lazurite with its well-defined faces and the color, contrast and symmetry of the piece is beautiful and extremely aesthetic. Excellent specimen. Location: Sar-e-Sang, Kokscha Valley, Badakshan, Afghanistan...

A stunning natural Opal (some matrix is still attached) from Welo, Ethiopia. Again, this is its natural form, unpolished. To be honest with you, I prefer this natural Opal over the polished version. (Although, I wisely wouldn’t consider giving this to my wife on...

This is a massive plate hosting countless miniature Prehnite stalactites or “fingers.” These are not epimorphs where the Prehnite covers the original mineral and the original mineral subsequently dissolves leaving a hollow cast, but rather solid Prehnite stalactites. A very unusual and even rare...

A fascinating specimen of golden Rutile “needles” emanating from dark, mirror-like metallic Hematite. This relationship between Rutile and Hematite is referred to as epitaxial growth. Epitaxy: Growing a crystal layer of one mineral (Rutile) on the crystal base of another mineral (Hematite) in such...

A large specimen featuring a druze of mint-green, translucent Prehnite pseudomorph after (replaced) well-defined tabular crystals of Calcite. This is an unusual (some say rare) find and there’s not a lot of it out there. This piece is very aesthetic and has no damage....

A large piece covered with beautiful radiating sprays (flower-like clusters) of highly lustrous, transparent crystals of Hemimorphite, with great contrast and in excellent condition. This is a great show piece! Location: Mina La Ojuela, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico Size: 13.5 x 10.5 x 6.5 cm

This is a fascinating piece - it features swirls of Rhodochrosite seemingly wrapped around miniature globular aggregates of sphalerite, all on a matrix of quartz. Many of the Rhodo crystal aggregates have an almost rosette-like formation. I had a little trouble capturing the pink...

An unusually large piece of Boulder Opal with an impressive seam of Opal running through it, with multiple smaller seams throughout the sandstone, visible on all sides. Amazing contrast both in color and in luster - a great piece. Location: Andamooka, South Australia Size: 18 x...

This piece hosts several clusters of apple-green Pyromorphite crystals. There is one cluster (top right) where the crystals all seem to have interconnected making an unusual solid mass (irregular aggregate) that I haven’t seen before, yet makes for an amazingly intense color and “greasy”...

Large plate of turquoise blue botryoidal Hemimorphite - great color with a nice silky luster - beautiful piece! Location: Yunan Province, China Size: 12 x 9.5 x 5 cm

A large, iridescent and translucent vein of gemmy opal running through brown sandstone. What an eye-catcher! Location: Maynside/Opalton, Queensland, Australia Size: 6.5 x 6.5 x 3.5 cm

A large, iridescent and translucent vein of gemmy opal running through brown sandstone. What an eye-catcher! Location: Maynside/Opalton, Queensland, Australia Size: 6.5 x 6 x 6 cm

A large, iridescent and translucent vein of gemmy opal running through brown sandstone. The purple-hued opal in the center of the vein is particularly appealing. What an eye-catcher! Location: Maynside/Opalton, Queensland, Australia Size: 10 x 6.5 x 5 cm

This is a very fascinating form of Lepidolite - the outside perimeter of the crystal is more-or-less lavender while the inside is translucent to transparent. A beautiful and interesting show piece, especially when back-lit. Location: Itinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil Size: 12 x 7 x 1 cm...