Spodumene, Spodumene

Unknown Owner

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A gorgeous DOUBLY-TERMINATED triphane (yellow-green spodumene) from the famous Beebe Hole in rural SD County! This one, in fact, was recognized by the locals to be so fat and juicy that it took the prize for best SD gem crystal at the local County fair (where many of the SD collectors show off their hoards...if you ever want a surprise, go see this fair and you'll be treated to a museum's worth of SD County rocks! The Beebe Hole was hit by accident when Loren Beebe was prospecting for garnets (around 1976?) in this remote area and stumbled on a spod shard. Exploration led to a SINGLE pocket which he collected in entirety and hoarded for several decades, selling mostly the cutting rough and keeping most of the better specimens until only recently. I visted Loren in his home in the Apple Valley in 1997, and saw them laid out in his living room. He would not sell the good pink crystals at that time although I was allowed to buy my favorite of the green spodumenes, this piece. I sold it shortly thereafter to Russ Rizzo, a local San Diego collector, in whose collection it has remained until now. This is an excellent and showy example of the find, plus just a darned good SD gem crystal as the fair judges pronounced! 11 x 7.3 x 2.4 cm