Dioptase and Chrysocolla

Unknown Owner

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Dioptase from the Ray Mine in Arizona is very uncommon. Most people who see Arizona Dioptase only see it from Morenci, and this one was a big surprise to me and I doubted it until it was verified by an Arizona collector expert. The matrix is lighter weight than Morenci material, and the Chrysocolla association is also distinct from here. it is simply gorgeous! The emerald green patches of sugary Dioptase, though small in crystal size, have an incredible bright intensity and the crystals sparkle against the pale green-blue carpet of Chrysocolla. It is a very beautiful and rare large specimen from the noted collection of the late Harold Urish, a truly amazing and hard-trading Arizona-based character who prowled the halls of Tucson for 50 years, trading and swapping things he had collected for Arizona and Mexico specimens.