The color is instantly recognizable from across a room on this sizeable specimen of a natural Aquamarine gem crystal. Aquamarine is one of the pinnacle gem species, whether as a gemstone to wear or as a crystal specimen to treasure for its natural beauty. This important specimen was nicknamed "the cricket bat" by its previous owner. It is a huge, straight, robust crystal that looks like it is launching off its natural host rock (matrix) of white feldspar crystals. This massive and dramatic aquamarine specimen hosts an important crystal that is just shy of 24 cm long, 4.5 cm wide, and nearly 5 cm depth. It has a very strong saturated, and pleasingly consistent color - rare in such large crystals. Like nearly all natural and large gem crystals, this was formed at extreme depths and pressures. Almost 100 million years ago as the Indian plate slammed into the bottom of Asia and caused the Himalaya Mountains to rise up these aquamarine pockets had already formed. Large crystals form in open pockets, which almost always collapse as the mountains form and rise. When we find these pockets, millions of years later, they are reassembled. One expects a piece like this to have multiple repairs and restorations; but, in this case, we are very pleased to find that it has only one (very clean) repair about the middle, making it a rare survivor in remarkable condition compared to most large examples. With a custom lucite display base.
25.0 x 21.0 x 9.5 cm (9.8 x 8.2 x 3.7in.) and 2.5 kg.