#111, Benitoite, Neptunite and Djurleite Specimen

• Report rights infringement
• published: 01 Jul 2011
• views: 746

www.capistranomining.com , AMAZING MULTI MINERAL SPECIMEN To get more information and see photos of this specimen go to, http://capistranomining.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId;=396 Every once in a while you get a great surprise when etching a specimen from the mine, and this is surely one of them. This small cabinet specimen of blue schist and natrolite matrix hosts some amazing crystals. There is only one place on earth these minerals can be found together, the Benitoite Gem Mine, now called the California State Gem Mine, in San Benito County, California. The overall size of the specimen is approx. 5.65 cm (2.22 inches) long x 3.31 cm ( 1.30 inches) wide x 2.56 (1" inch) tall. The specimen is mounted on a clear acrylic base with mineral tack, for a very pleasing display. There are approx. 12 benitoite crystals present on this specimen. Some are damaged at the edge of the piece. The main show stoppers are 3 larger than normal crystals of benitoite. They are naturally fractured and or included but each of these crystals has some gemmy areas in them. The largest crystal measure an amazing 2.2 cm. It's tip is missing and was damaged long before it was ever etch. It is still a very impressive crystal of benitoite. If this crystal was complete, my asking price for this piece would be 4 to 5 times higher. The other large crystals measure approx. 1.6 cm and the other, which is not fully exposed has to be at least that large, these are also very large for benitoite. There are also other benitoite crystals that are only partially exposed. These other two large crystals also formed with some rare termination faces. Also present on the specimen are a few nice shiny neptunite crystals. Another great plus on this specimen is the small cluster of djurleite crystals that are at the base of the monster crystal. This is an amazing example of these 3 minerals for any collection. Great presentation piece.