Topaz with Smoky Quartz
Unknown Owner
Help improve this recordNo owner is registered for this specimen yet. If it's yours or you know more about it, you can add the owner, provenance, publications and other details.
Known since the 18th century, the Topaz deposits at Nerchinsk in the Adun-Cholon Range are famous for their extremely fine, well-formed crystals of predominantly colourless Topaz, but it is their distinctive size and association with Smoky Quartz that defines them as classics, making them instantly recognizable from most other Topaz specimens. I must confess to not knowing the modern history of these gem deposits but most specimens that I have seen are from seriously old collections dating to the mid-1800s and earlier. This superb miniature specimen displays the classic accumulation of many, well-formed, colourless, glassy Topaz crystals in this instance with just a minor association with Smoky Quartz. The Topaz crystals present a distinctive elongated wedge-shaped orthorhombic form with one main crystal, over 3 cm in length, dominating the piece, surrounded by smaller glassy crystals, some showing orange coatings. The main crystal is doubly-terminated with its upper end much broader than the other. It has some minor chipping at either corner of its upper termination and a slight 'nibble' along the bladed edge of this termination but it remains in very fine condition for such an iconic classic. During the early history of mineralogy developing as a science Adun-Cholon Topaz crystals were, along with the more prismatic 'Imperial' Topaz crystals from Brazil, the premier examples of the species used for study.
Product details
SizeMiniature
Dimensions3.0 x 4.2 x 3.6 cm
Added on05/13/2026
LocalityRussia, Zabaykalsky Krai, Adun-Cholon Range
Known provenance
| Date | Collector | Acquisition price |
|---|---|---|
| 07/2026 | Unknown Owner | $2,500.00 |
| — | Crystal Classics | Not disclosed |
Learn more
Mineral guide
Learn about Topaz
hard, glassy orthorhombic crystals from pegmatites and rhyolites; colors range from colorless to pink; sharp terminations aid identification, localitie…Regional guide
Comments