Montmorillonite included Quartz from  White Queen Mine, Pala California USA - image 1

Montmorillonite included Quartz from White Queen Mine, Pala California USA

Large, etched Quartz Crystal with inclusions of pink Montmorillonite, From the White Queen Mine, Hiriart Mtn, Pala District, San Diego

County, California USA. Measures 10 x 7 inches. Mined by Norm and Violet Dawson, owners of the mine in the late 1950s. Dawsons to the Herb and Mary Walters Collection in 1959. Acquired from Miners Gems in San Diego about 2021 and in the Christopher Wentzell collection. This crystal is natural, and has not been cut or polished (yet). These large crystals from the old upper White Queen Mine were cut open and polished to reveal beautiful clear crystal centers with radiating sprays and formations of included Montmorillonite.

Product details

Added on05/01/2026
Current owner
Christopher Wentzell
Watertown, South Dakota, United States
Member since 2025
Previous owners
DateCollectorAcquisition price
—Norman E. DawsonNot disclosed
—Unknown OwnerNot disclosed

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a versatile mineral with clear, milky, and colored varieties; crystal forms, formation clues, and tips for identifying amethyst and citrine.
Quartz
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Quartz from White Queen Mine
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Locality guide
White Queen Mine
White Queen Mine, USA - premier Pala pegmatite locality famed for albite, cleavelandite, tourmaline, and peach-pink morganite; historic, collectible specimens.