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Dioptase from Kazakhstan

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Rocks, Fossils & Minerals Start Price:1,000.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 3,000.00 USD
Dioptase from Kazakhstan
SOLD
1,000.00USDto i*********2+ buyer's premium (240.00)
This item SOLD at 2017 Oct 19 @ 09:11UTC-7 : PDT/MST
SHIPPING & HANDLING: Shipping and Handling cannot be estimated prior to invoicing, based on the size and weight of your purchase. All shipping is subject to a minimum charge of $19.00. If additional shipping and handling costs are required, the buyer will be reinvoiced for the balance due. Items are not shipped until the invoice is completely paid. Many buyers purchase a number of lots. Every effort will be made to include all lots in a single shipping charge calculated to cover the weight
Dioptase was first described from Altyn Tyube, the type locality for dioptase, late in the 18th century. Altyn Tyube translates as 'Golden Hill' in the Kazakh language. Altyn Tyube is a remarkable deposit in the Steppes, far from everywhere. The deposit was worked for copper in neolithic times (malachite and small amounts of cuprite). When dioptase was "rediscovered" at Altyn-Tyube by miners in the late 1700's, they thought they had found the emerald deposit of their dreams. They found fantastic cavities within a massive limestone, filled with thousands of lustrous emerald-green transparent crystals. The crystals were dispatched to Moscow, Russia for analysis. However the mineral's inferior hardness of 5 compared with emerald's greater hardness of 8 distinguished it as a new species ... a copper cyclosilicate. This specimen features the classic, intense emerald-green to bluish-green color which makes dioptase so popular with mineral collectors. The individual dioptase crystals on this specimen are quite large and extremely lustrous. It is also nice to see the tan-colored limestone matrix rock characteristic of the Altyn-Tyube deposit showing through the "carpet" of inter-grown dioptase crystals. Dimensions (cm): 6.8 H x 5 W x 5 D. Location: Altyn-Tyube deposit, Kirghiz Steppes, Karagandy Province, Kazakhstan City: State: Kazakhstan Date: HWAC# 53031