Quartz with Rutile and Hematite "star" inclusions

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This riveting sphere of quartz is carved out of one of the most clean pieces of rough we have seen of this material, with genuinely crisp and clear quartz that looks like glass, hosting a "garden" of rutile within. The Rutile is classic in style for this region, in that it sprays off of hematite blades like stars, shooting up. The quality is exceptional both in the sharpness and color of the rutiles; and in the crispness and clarity of the quartz so that the inclusions are so readily visible. No fog or haze within, the inclusions are as sharp as if frozen in glass! Color is exceptional but what really makes the piece special, and distinct from so many other "jumbly " examples out there, is that the rutile is situated on the bottom of the sphere so that it looks like a frozen garden. These are almost always situated randomly within the sphere, or perhaps as single clusters of rutile and hematite floating within - whereas this displays as a scene of matrix growth, like a tableau frozen within. It is a stunning object of both mineral and lapidary art, carved from some of the best rough material produced here in decades. It has long been in a high level private collection of spheres in China. 1062 grams.