PRODUCT INFORMATION

General Description

Exceptional dioptase specimens which is massive for its species. A large block of dolomite with crystalline bright emerald green, none optic, crystals scattered over the majority of one of the surfaces of the host block! The crystals range from drusy to larger more distinctive individual crystals in a dense arrangement! Taking photos of dioptase is always challenging. Generally Speaking - Brazzaville in 2019 yielded some of the best Museum quality gemmy crystalline Dioptase specimens seen in many decades. A handful of the specimens were associated with bright gemmy yellow Mimetite crystals and / or botryoidal hollow domes of Dioptase. This was a small pocket which only yielded a handful of specimens. Subsequently, material from Tantara started to appear around 2020. However, the two deposits are fundamentally different. The crystals from Tantara tend to be less gemmy but still breath-taking bright emerald green! They range from microcrystalline drusy style, to much larger more distinctive cubic crystals in complex and dense clusters. One thing both of these deposits (Brazzaville & Tantara) had in common was the sheer size of the specimens mined. Rule of thumb with dioptase from anywhere in the world, in that, you're lucky to own a small one. Tantara has certainly produced some of the largest crystalline dioptase specimens known from Africa in the last 35 years. Specimens from this mine are even bigger than anything which came out of Tsumeb, Namibia. More collector and museum grade specimens of Dioptase have been found in Africa in the last five years than in the previous two decades, and potentially kg for kg......in the history of dioptase mining in Southern Africa.

Price is grade dependant. Item is as shown.

Product Data

Locality = Congo
Grade = Very Good Grade
Size = 173 x 115 x 50 mm | 6.8 x 4.5 x 2 inch
Net Weight = 1.7 Kg | 3.6 Lbs
Product Type = Décor Item

Net Weight = 1.65 kg
SKU = S125655DIOP**