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THE  CORUNDUMINIUM
 
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SPECIMENS   FOR  SALE,  Priced  less  than  $100.00

  
     
 

Pictures are thumbnails - click on one for full resolution image.   We do combine shipments (or you may pick your stones up) and we can offer reduced prices on multiple orders, depending on whose specimens are involved and how much discretion we have.

  
     
 

Last updated July 24, 2008.

  
     
      Please note that I will be traveling in the field and will be largely incommunicato approximately from July 10, 2008 until August 15, 2008.  We should return with some interesting self-collected Colorado,Wyoming, and Montana specimens.  In August, 2008, we should be resuming sales on Ebay, using the ID "corundumaniac".   
 
 
 
  1:   GEM  MOUNTAIN  ( ROCK  CREEK ),   MONTANA

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       This 1.21 carat crystal (from the Gem Mountain property along Rock Creek between Hamilton and Philipsburg) is doubly terminated, showing a low relief triangle on one terminal face (much better than the photo indicates, due I guess to the gemminess of the stone).  It is wafery. so it would not cut a large, correctly proportioned stone, but as a specimen I think it is very fine and would keep it as such.   It is a natural, untreated stone, just the way it came out of the ground         $75.00 plus shipping

 
   
 
  2:   GEM  MOUNTAIN  ( ROCK  CREEK ),   MONTANA

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       This little .56 carat doubly terminated sapphire crystal came from the Gem Mountain property along Rock Creek between Hamilton and Philipsburg.  It is a superb white gem  with a gold spot in the center, making it as unusual in color as it is in habit.  It would do well in any micro collection!  It is natural and unterated.  $50.00 plus shipping

 
   
   
  3:   GEM  MOUNTAIN  ( ROCK  CREEK ),   MONTANA

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     This heat treated Gem Mountain sapphire weighs about 1.62 carats and measures about 1/4" across by 3/32" thick (along the C-axis).  Its body color is a pale bluish green, and there are zones of more intense blue caused by exsolved rutile being driven back into the crystal lattice by the cooking.  It is an interesting example of what can happen to a stone when the "silk" is not uniform.    It is a gem with a waxy external appearance due to the action of surface tension when the stone was near the melting point in the oven.    $45.00 plus shipping

 
   
   
 
4:   DRY  COTTONWOOD  CREEK,   MONTANA

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     This heat trreated 1.17-carat white sapphire has an unusual orange "flag" in the center and a couple of parallel blue stripes along one edge, showing what can happen when inclusions become assimilated into the crystal lattice during "cooking"!   The 1/4" across by 1/16" wafery stone could be cut into a small gold orange gold sapphire, or left as an interesting expression of "strangeling" zonation.  It might be seen as a failure (not every crystal is a winner, I guess), but I see it as a fascinating affirmation of the potential chemical non-uniformities of crystals that are optically uniform  before treatment.    It's a visually attractive, scientifically revealing mini-thumbnail.  $60.00 plus shipping

   
   
5:   DRY  COTTONWOOD  CREEK,   MONTANA

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This .94 carat heat treated sapphire is very pale orange to white with an intense oramge center, caused by inclusions driven into  the crystal lattice by the "cooking".  It's interesting also because it has lustrous terminal faces and hints of the elevated triangles or "vicinal froms" found on some corundums that some Ebayers call "record keepers".  It's too thin to cut anything of much value, but it is an attractive mini-thumbnail scientific curiosity priced accordingly.       $24.00 plus shipping

   
   
6:   KASHMIR  SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL CLUSTER

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     This sapphire cluster is from the classic Kashmir locality, and was recently purchased from a local villager who may have found it many years ago.  It is a very fine example of the bipyramidal habit typical of the stones from here.  It is about 11/16" long, and I would guess its weight to be about 6 carats.  It also has traces of kaolin attached, a diagnostic feature of Kashmir sapphire rough. It has a silky, translucent to gemmy white interior, and may heat treat to produce a fine medium blue faceted stone or two: but I would keep this one as a specimen from a locality which may be almost mined out and whose political future is uncertain.  It is natural and untreated.       $36.00 plus shipping

   
   
 
7:   KASHMIR  SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL CLUSTER

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     This sapphire cluster is from the classic Kashmir locality, and was recently purchased from a local villager who may have found it many years ago.   It is mostly silky translucent, and may be heart treatable.  It weighs about ten or eleven carats, I think; and it is about 11/16" long in its longest dimension.   It is an interesting specimen, as most of this quality end up getting faceted or cabbed.  I would keep it as a specimen from a locality which may be almost mined out and whose political future is uncertain.  It is natural and untreated.    $62.00 plus shipping

   
   
 
8:   UNUSUAL KASHMIR  SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL

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     This unusual twinned crystal was recently purchased from a local villager.  A few fancy-colored sapphires have recently been found in Kashmir, not far from the classic locality in the Zanskar Range.  This 7.64 carat crystal, tending to purplish pink, is a true rarity.  It is not terminated (but Kashmir sapphires rarely are as I think they tend to be partially resorbed during their residence in the lode sources).   It is natural and untreated.   $51.00 plus shipping

     
     
 
9:   KASHMIR  SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL CLUSTER

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     This cluster is very aesthetic, dark blue, and pretty much opaque.  It's a superb example of the habit of fine Kashmir specimens, and has a partial coating of kaolin that is diagnostic.  I t measures about 3/4" by 5/8" by 3/8", and I have not weighed it but would guess it weighs around 15  carats.  (Bugs Bunny borrowed my carrot scale).  It is natural and untreated.     $43.00 plus shipping

 
     
     
 
10:   KASHMIR  SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL TWIN

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     This 2.95 carat bipyramidal twin is a superb mini-thumbnail example (slightly more than 1/2" long) of the classic Kashmir sapphire.  It is quite translucent and light blue on the end that is not coated with kaolin.   It is natural and untreated.  $40.00 plus shipping

 
     
     
 
11:   KASHMIR  SAPPHIRE  CLUSTER

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     This 14.34 carat cluster is dark blue and opaque.  It was recovered many years ago from the early alluvial operations by a Kashmiri "artisanal miner", and recently purchased and brought to America.  It is a classic specimen, as is indicated by the brownish color of the kaolin found on almost all stones from that locality.  The crystals are bipyramidal, intergrown, and twinned in an interesting, almost arborescent cluster.  It is a fine specimen, albeit not gemmy, from Kashmir.  It is natural and untreated.     $50.00 plus shipping.

 
     
     
 
12:   KASHMIR  SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL  CLUSTER

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     This is a partial, complex crystal of medium blue sapphire from the classic Kashmir locality.  It is about 9/16" long, and I would guess it weighs 5 or 6 crats.  The second photo shows a broken surface, with the included garnets that probably caused it to break.  The white material is kaolin, which is found on almost all Kashmir sapphires.  It is natural and untreated.  $18.00 plus shipping.

 
     
     
 
13:   KASHMIR  SAPPHIRE  TWIN

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     This 2.74 carat specimen is unusual, because the main crystal is a simple tapered prism.  It appears to be terminated, although it is coated with kaolin and some resorption has occurred.  It's probably an "old" specimen (collected many years ago), but recently imported into the United States.  I think it would draw a lot of comments in any mini-thumbnail showcase!   It is natural and untreated.   $30.00 plus shipping

 
     
     
 
14:   KASHMIR  SAPPHIRE  CRYSTAL

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     This mini "rocket ship is a gemmy pyramidal crystal with some twinning and a partial coating of white kaolin.  It is probably an "old" specimen (collected many years ago), but was recently brought into the United states.   It is both aesthetic and a fine example of the Kashmir sapphire habit.   It is natural and untreated.   $30.00 plus shipping

 
     
     
 
15:   KASHMIR  SAPPHIRE  TWIN

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     Two flattened crystals form this unusual "blue-dge" twin.  The particularly striking gemminess of the upper termination of the larger crystal and the color zoning are well-shown in the first image.  The second shows the striated lateral face on the "back" of the specimen.  It s very unusual, and a most attractive micro or mini thumbnail specimen!  It is natural and untreated.   $25.00 plus shipping.

 
     
     
 
16:   NORTH  CAROLINA  (Jacobs  Mine,  Cowee  Valley)

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This tabular 1.23 carat crystal has fine red body color, and it is doubly terminated.  The incomplete zone evident on the lower part in the first picture appears to be a growth pattern or an old parting - the specimen has no apparent damage from being collected.  The basal pinacoid is well terminated, showing multiple elevated triangles on both faces (a feature not well revealed, especially in the second photograph).   It is natural and untreated.  $81.00 plus shipping

 
     
     
 
17:   NORTH  CAROLINA  (Jacobs  Mine,  Cowee  Valley)

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This 1.96 carat doubly terminated crystal is a good specimen from the classic Jacobs deposit.   It was found around 50 years ago by a local resident.  It appears undamaged, but does not have the pigeon-blood body color or gemmy character for which this deposit is most famous.   It's a nice, affordable thumbnail American ruby crystal.  It is natural and untreated.   $70.00 plus shipping

 
     
     
   
18:   INDIA  (Budhipata,  Karnataka  Province)

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     This loose crystal, from the locality best known for rubies in gneiss,  is very unusual.  It has an unusual flattened hexagonal outline, but is a doubly terminated bitapered prism.  It measures about 1/4" by 3/8" on the terminal faces, and is about 1/4" thick (along the C-axis).  It shows a litlle water wear, and is slightly less translucent than the magnified images make it appear.  It's a very nice small humbnail crystal for its origin.  Though it's ideally shaped for a high dome oval cab, I would keep it as a specimen.    We have a bunch of these, hand-picked for form and lack of damage; so please let me know if you want more than one.      $10.00  plus shipping

 
     
     
 
19:   INDIA  (Budhipata,  Karnataka  Province)

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This This nearly half inch long ruby crystal from the classic locality known for specimens of ruby in gneiss is doubly terminated (I had a heck of a time photographing one end, and you can trust me - there is a tiny mirror-like triangle on the other; and it shows no dings!  It is slightly less translucent than the magnified images make it appear.    We have a bunch of these, hand-picked for form and lack of damage; so please let me know if you want more than one.     $6.00 plus shipping

 
     
     
 
20:   INDIA  (Budhipata,  Karnataka  Province)

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     This loose doubly terminated ruby crystal from the classic locality known for rubies in gneiss is especially interesting, because the "growth plate" along which it started to form is especially prominent.  The termination not shown is well-formed but just kinda flat.   It is about 7/16" long (parallel to the C-axis).  We have a bunch of these, hand-picked for form and lack of damage; so please let me know if you want more than one.          $6.00 plus shipping