Descloizite - image 1

Descloizite

Unknown Owner
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This fine descloizite specimen is from the locality that is the undisputed world champion for this mineral species. The crystals here are shimmering silvery-brown, with dendritic form as opposed to the sharp-faced chunky form the other specimen shows. This is the more "traditional" look for fine Berg Aukas descloizites. From the well-known California collection of Charles Hansen.

Product details

SpeciesDescloizite
SizeSmall Cabinet
Dimensions6.4 x 4.2 x 3.4 cm
Added on10/23/2024
LocalityNamibia, Otjozondjupa Region, Berg Aukas Mine

Known provenance

DateCollectorAcquisition price
08/2024Unknown OwnerNot disclosed
—The ArkenstoneNot disclosed

Learn more

Descloizite
Mineral guide
Learn about Descloizite
lead-zinc vanadate with lustrous rosettes, black-to-brown tones, and warm translucence; top localities Otavi, Namibia and Ojuela, Mexico.
Descloizite
Regional guide
Descloizite from Berg Aukas Mine, Namibia
Berg Aukas descloizite is one of the great “species-defining” classics: the locality by which serious collectors judge descloizite. The best pieces have a sculptural, almost architectural presence—dark brown to nearly black spear-point crystals, glossy blades, jackstraw bundles, radiating rosettes, and sharply terminated clusters that can look metallic under a show lamp yet glow warm reddish brown along thinner edges. Many specimens sit in pleasing contrast on pale calcite, dolomite, smithsonite, or willemite-bearing matrix, giving the dark vanadate crystals the visual authority of black lacquer against limestone.