Beryl var. Emerald

Unknown Owner

The Crabtree mine at Spruce Pine, Mitchell County, North Carolina, USA is a famous Emerald mine that opened in 1894 and has operated sporadically ever since. Very few large, gem quality Emeralds (the green variety of Beryl) have been found there, but there have been some. Nevertheless they are extremely rare, and indeed even mineral specimens displaying richly coloured Emerald are a rarely seen commodity. This very rich miniature matrix specimen comes from David Hardman's North American suite and was likely acquired by him during the 1960s or 1970s. It is one of the richer Crabtree mine specimens we have seen available for some time, featuring intensely green, hexagonal section prismatic Beryl var. Emerald crystals, with some small but gemmy portions.