Mike Scott had a passionate love for gemstones and jewellery arts, and therefore also for the raw minerals and gemstone species of crystals that were the source of such beauty in gems and jewels. He prided himself on seeking out unusual and important, often large, examples of the various forms of rough materials used for gems and jewellery; and after his time as CEO at Apple, built a large collection of gemstones accented by these natural mineral specimens.

This is an important specimen of one of the most desirable of all gem species, Opal, showing off the natural environment in which it forms in the rock and from the most famous opal localities in the world: in Quilpie, Australia. The gorgeous and large display piece is simply impactful from a distance, and suitable for any collection or display as a standalone object. A massive natural sandstone host rock, showing off a footlong vertical "ribbon" of solid boulder opal. The opal is of cutting quality and such specimens, when found, are therefore almost always broken up into pieces for the gem and jewellery trade. However, at the time this came out in the mid 1980s, Michael Scott was making it known that he wanted among the world's finest examples of "rough" natural gemstones to go with the world class gemstone collection he was already assembling. Most important miners and dealers knew of Mike Scott and saved items to show him. He purchased this directly from his Australian source in the mid-1980s, according to notes obtained from his estate. After his retirement from Apple, he became further engaged with gemstones (and minerals), building a collection for exhibiting and teaching the public about where gemstones come from. The interaction of natural art and sources with human eyes and carving skills fascinated Mike, and so this exhibition was geared to show the public that gems really do come from nature, by putting them in proximity to one another within the exhibitions.

This massive opal specimen is one of the largest fine quality examples of a waterfall-like ribbon of opal. Nothing of this size and calibre is on display in any major museum in Australia. Mike Scott believed this to be the finest large opal museum display piece. It was in his miscellaneous private holdings and not part of his various museum exhibitions or loans, when it came out of the came out of the estate in a small deaccession. With a custom lucite base.
34.0 x 25.0 x 19.0 cm (13.3 x 9.8 x 7.4in.) and 21.5 kg.

Ex Mike Scott collection

Light and Stone: Highlights from the Michael Scott Collection, 2002