Malachite in Shattuckite pocket - image 1

Malachite in Shattuckite pocket

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Namibia is the king of shattuckite specimens now, but some few of those also have beautiful malachite; and the combination of the two copper species in contrast is highly colorful and therefore desirable. This is a unique sculptural specimen of beauty and color contrast, that I have always remembered fondly since the first time i had it, in 2010 when I obtained it in the purchase of legendary dealer Charlie Key's Namibian and South African collection suites (together with Marshall Sussman). We sold this to Jack at the time. It is literally a complete pocket of shattuckite, which filled in some fracture in rocks but left an open space within, when it formed. Malachite, as thick primary crystals, filled that gap with a vibrant, velvety layer of crystals so that it looks like a blue whale mouth with green baleen inside. This was the only perfect and sizable example we had, in the entire collection of over 4000 pieces of Charlie's Namibian and South African material. He was there when these first started coming out of the mines, and high graded unique and interesting things like this for decades. In person, to hold in your hand, it is just endlessly interesting...and different than all the others. Figure 94 on page #102 of Addicted to Beauty: The Legacy of Jack Halpern (Mineralogical Record, March 2025). Laszlo Kupi photo.