Description
Detailed Description
This piece features the face of a dioptase seam, covered with beautiful dioptase crystals. The dioptase crystals are sharp and glassy, with unusually good translucence. In excellent condition, tiny missing crystals in a couple of spots, and contacting at the front bottom where this was attached to the surrounding rock. The specimen has been prepared using a saw to reduce excess rock, at the bottom and lower part of the backside – as a result it stands and displays perfectly as photographed. These crystals are as lustrous as dioptase gets, and they really glow under the lights with the internal play of light.
About These Dioptase Specimens
Dioptase was first described from Altyn Tyube, the type locality for dioptase, in the nineteenth century. Altyn Tyube is a remarkable deposit in the Steppes, far from everywhere. It was first worked for copper thousands of years B.C., and it is interesting to note that there are very few copper minerals at the locality – dioptase with occasional minor malachite and cuprite. These beautiful specimens were mined in 2015, acquired soon afterward from the team currently conducting specimen mining at Altyn Tyube.
