Calcite Jewels

Unknown Owner

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This is an Elmwood specimen from the famous late 1970s "jewel pocket," that was recently traded to me out of the collection of the Benjamins, friends in France known for their exquisite taste in fluorite nad clacite in particular. It was formerly owned by Keith Proctor, who obtained it from the Steve Neely Collection, which was sold in 1997. This pocket remains one of the most famous and desired of all Elmwood calcite finds, and the gemmy quality, sparkling luster, and sheer transparency of the crystals sets a standard hard to beat. I think its pretty obvious why they nicknamed it, that. Most crystals were 1-2 inches. some few in good condition reached 4-6 inches. I showed it to Steve Neely recently, just after my trade with the owners, and he recognized it immediately. Most have damage. THIS ONE does not. not a ding. Most specimens from this pocket consist of a single isolated crystal sitting flat on shards of gray dolomite, which detracts from the light transmission through the crystals, and means that too much ugly gray rock is often present. Not this one. In this piece, the calcite itself is central, and a few shards of the matrix extend elegantly from the calcite and behind it in a way that enhances the calcite by immediately conveying how damned gemmy it is. It is GEM CLEAR throughout. you are looking right through the whole crystal in the photo, in its core over 3 cm thick, to the extension of matrix on its backside which reaches out to host the accessory crystal. The real prize, though, is that this piece has a secondary crystal which is even jewellier and gemmier than the first, just a perfect gem hanging off the extended matrix. The large crystal has the sharpest terminations you can ask for, and the smaller one has the more rare, fat termination with multiple facets. So you have two slightly differnt styles on the same specimen, complementing. Overall, it is simply one of the most elegant such pieces I have seen, is a good size, and displays impressively well without the usual bulk of matrix required to stably show such a large gem crystal. This piece, its a miracle it survived intact. And then getting it home on the plane through post-1-small-bag security through Charles de Gaulle, ugh. But I can say that it even impressed the security people on the jetwayin Paris, at least. Bottom line, this is one of the finest calcites from ANY locality that I have ever owned or offered - and I am/was a calcite collector. The pedigree of previous owners could mean nothing if the value wasn't there as a specimen, but since it IS a killer, you can see why it fit in each of those collections. Proctor specialized in Gem Crystals and it certainly fits the bill there more than most calcites; Neely in just damned good small cab and cabinet sized specimens period, but particularly Elmwood material; and the Benjamins specialize in calcite - but mostly in PRISTINE and elegant aesthetics. The price is POR not because it is so much money I am embarrassed to say, but rather because a lot of people have an understandable difficulty in evaluating Elmwood material at this price and quality range, given that the mine produced so much tonnage and the next tier down in quality is, frankly, kinda cheap for what you get in quality. But here is the rub...it WAS only a perception that good things were cheap all along. Elmwood closed years ago now, and the good stuff stopped flowing much earlier, but even at the time a piece like this commanded a super premium over the bulk mine-run material, make no mistake. Truly oustanding Elmwood material is not available today, at any price, near as I can see.