Morganite on Cleavelandite With Quartz - image 1

Morganite on Cleavelandite With Quartz - image 2

Morganite on Cleavelandite With Quartz

Unknown Owner

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This outstanding specimen from the 1960s-1970s heyday here is both aesthetic and fine in quality. It is not repaired. It features a rich pink 4 x 3.5 cm crystal of GEMMY morganite, perched on contrasting white matrix. Not only is it on contrasting matrix, but it is on contrasting CRYSTALLIZED matrix. Some morganites from here are embedded in lumpy matrix of massive cleavelandite, not this one! The contrast to the bladed cleavelandite and the prismatic quartz is striking, geometrically, and gives the composition of this piece a boost from "just nice" to the level of a very high quality. The pink color in this crystal is exceptional for the mine and comparable to modern morganites from Pakistan in color, whereas most White Queen morganite, even the famous Houston piece, is a bit paler in comparison. The upper photos contrast the piece (minimally) backlit and sitting in flat room lighting. As you can see, not much light at all is needed for an internal glow to be dramatic. The crystal is gemmy, pristine, and complete save for contact on the back where it grew agains tmatrix we removed to trim the piece down in size from the way it has sat for the last 30 years. Larson obtained this from the mine owner, Norm Dawson, in the 1980s.