Quartz (Var: Smoky Quartz)

Unknown Owner

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This quartz specimen is absolutely bizarre for Brandberg. It looks much more like something you would see from Brazil, an incredibly complex compound crystal that looks as if it is composed of dozens of beta-style quartzes piled atop one another. There is some skeletal growth apparent in places. It shares similarities to Brazilian quartzes sometimes known as "elestial" quartz. At any rate, this compound growth has wrapped itself around a large core crystal of colorless quartz. The faces are exactly aligned so they flash at the same time. There is some hematite inclusion, giving the crystals their rusty tint. Again, very unusual for Brandberg, so a significant locality quartz specimen! From the collection of David Mansfield, son-in-law of the late great dealer and Tsumeb exporter, Sid Pieters of South Africa.