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Home
Earth
Treasures |
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VAULT
#1 |
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SPECIMENS FOR
SALE, Priced $10,000.00 or more |
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For a variety of reasons, we have
decided to sell the corundum collection, reversing an effort
of almost thirty years. Over that time, we were able
to acquire some of the World's finest corundum specimens:
some historically important, some iconic for the localities
they represent, and some just plain outrageous! We
also have a few other minerals, such as the giant emerald
below. By allowing many of our friends and colleagues
to enjoy specimens from our collection in their own
cabinets, we are happy that it will continue to be enjoyed
after God says I have no more Earthly interest in it. |
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Pictures are thumbnails - click
on images for full resolution photos. Specimens here are
representative of our inventory, so if you don't see exactly what you
are looking for please email us at
wheierman@corunduminium.com
and I will try to find it. If you are interested in a particular
specimen, please refer to it using the reference in the left column.
We prefer to do business the good, old-fashioned way; but if paying by
check or money order we may require clearance of funds prior to
shipment. We are not set up for credit cards.
We do combine shipments
(or you may pick your stones up) and can sometimes offer reduced prices on
multiple orders. We prefer to ship domestically by U.S. Insured or
Registered Mail (for no additional fee on Vault purchases)
International shipments will be arranged with the purchaser on a case by
case basis. |
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Updates in progress,
February 7, 2014 |
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NDIAN RUBY CRYSTALS |
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Karnataka
(Mysore) Province has produced some incredibly large and
well-formed ruby crystals. The Subramaniam region is
the source of the specimens below. They first hit
Tucson around 1999, and after a couple of years they have
almost disappeared. The local forestry commission has
attempted to close the area to all forms of mining, so it is
unlikely there will be many new ones. Check out the
Back Room for a few more.(to be posted soon). |
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| "God's First
Model for Adam, which Fortunately He Discarded' is
the whimsical name for this comically twinned 17
pound, doubly terminated purplish red ruby.
$17,500 (On hold) |
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BERYL, var.
EMERALD [BRAZIL]
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This is my favorite emerald specimen.
The smaller, broken but healed interpenetrant twin is
translucent, meaning it is not white or black inside as so many
of these huge crystals are. The larger one is,
unfortunately, more opaque and somewhat irregularly colored on
the back (second photo; that is why it is the back). When I first saw
it, it was almost totally covered with gneiss; and the little
part exposed made me think it was a large tourmaline crystal. $35,000.00
(On Loan) |
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PAINITE [ WET
LOO MINE, KYAUK PYA THART, BURMA ] |
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Painite is an exremely
rare complex refractory oxide, CaZrBAl9O18
, found in only two localities in Burma. It was
for a time listed in the Guinnes" Book of World Records as
the World's rarest gemstone mineral, and good specimens have
been described as the "Holy Grail" for collectors. For
more about this rarity, see two seminal Internet articles by
George Rossman (
http://minerals.caltech.edu/files/Visible/painite/Index.htm )
and Vincent Pardieu (
Link didn't work, Google Painite
Pardieu
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The four specimens here were
found in a skarn at the edge of the
Wet Loo ruby mine, just outside the Mogok Stone Tract, and
just around the hill from the Kyauk Pya Thart Monastery.
Each is the finest of its genre that I have seen, and the
consensus seems to be that the small pocket where conditions
were right for the formation of painite has been "mined out"
. If the
suite were kept together it is highly unlikely that another
of equal quality will ever be put together. I would
consider reasonable offers from anyone wishing to keep them
together.
They are from a suite of specimens bought by a friend who
lives in Kuala Lumpur, who memoed them to me for sale in
America. After selling a few of the lesser specimens,
I had to have these and negotiated the purchase of the
remaining items. Some will appear on the other pages
of the "Earth Treasures" folder. |
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LARGE TERMINATED
PAINITE CRYSTAL |
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I
know of only one larger crystal; and it did not appear to be as
well terminated as this one is It may be, all things considered, the
finest pure painite (no noticeable ruby attached) specimen in existence. It weighs about
101 grams (505 carats). It is well-formed and
slightly complex, showing both "parallel growth"
striations and "herring-bone twinning".
$17,500.00
(On loan; On hold) |
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RUBY ENCRUSTED PAINITE CRYSTAL
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This 900 carat specimen may be the finest ruby
encrusted painite in existence. It is a
twinned crystal showing parallel growth (they
habitually form as a series of hair-like rods) and
extensive gem ruby attachments. It
does have a slight repair. The small
triangular portion visible on the bottom left in
the last photo came off, probably as a result of
acid treatment before I got it) and it has been
reattached.
$22,500.00 (On hold) |
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RUBY ENCRUSTED PAINITE CLUSTER, PARTIALLY ALTERED TO RUBY
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This 2,500 ruby encrusted cluster of painite
specimens is also partially altered to ruby (last
photo).
$22,500 (On hold) |
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| RUBY AFTER PAINITE
PSEUDOMORPH |
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