Quartz var. Amethyst with Phantoms (illustrated) - image 1
Quartz var. Amethyst with Phantoms (illustrated) - image 2

Quartz var. Amethyst with Phantoms (illustrated)

Unknown Owner
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This perfectly balanced matrix specimen is a rarity because it has no clunky matrix, no repairs, and is complete 360 degrees with no damage. It features a superb, razor sharp, gemmy, 7.8-cm tall crystal standing in the middle of a shallow pocket or nest of smaller crystals. The crystal is 2.7 cm wide, 2 cm thick, and stunningly glassy. It is among the best quality you can find for this locality, and the complex phantoms make them unique in the world. Specimens on matrix like this are incredibly uncommon and hard to obtain, particularly without repair or typical peripheral damage. This piece was once much larger, and the crystal was nicely protected in a pocket, of a massive rock. Wally obtained this as a "big rock" many years ago and successively trimmed it through two trimmings over the years. It was illustrated in his chapter in the Texas Collectors Supplement issue of the Mineralogical Record (2014). As a bonus, there is a sharp and very visible water bubble that moves along the termination of one of the internal phantoms, about 2.5 cm down from the termination. Comes with a custom lucite base. ex Wally Mann collection. Joe Budd photos.

Product details

SizeSmall Cabinet
Dimensions9.0 x 7.5 x 7.0 cm
Added on10/23/2024

Known provenance

DateCollectorAcquisition price
08/2024Unknown OwnerNot disclosed
The ArkenstoneNot disclosed

Learn more

Amethyst
Mineral guide
Learn about Amethyst
violet quartz prized for vivid color and crystal forms; affordable Brazilian geodes and razor-sharp Georgia crystals, with collecting localities.
Amethyst
Regional guide
Amethyst from Goboboseb Mountains, Namibia
Goboboseb amethyst is the collector’s “Brandberg” amethyst in its most important market sense: glassy quartz from the basalt country west of the Brandberg massif, showing purple amethyst, smoky quartz, rock crystal, phantoms, hematite veils, and mobile fluid inclusions in combinations that are unusually expressive for quartz. The best crystals are not merely purple; they look internally built, with smoky stems, violet caps, ghost-crystal outlines, clay or hematite veils, and trapped liquid-vapor bubbles that animate the specimen when it is turned in the hand.
    Quartz var. Amethyst with Phantoms (illustrated) - Goboboseb Mountains, Erongo Region, Namibia