r/mineralcollectors

That deep Santa Maria-style blue never gets old. Natural aquamarine with incredible color. Curious what everyone thinks of this shade.

👽

The Anahi Mine in Bolivia is one of my favorite localities for Amethyst.

Just wanted to share a few new pieces in my collection! I adore them 😁

So I pre-ordered these 2 minerals and the seller stated them as Enhydro Herkimer on the left from Pakistan, while the one on the right is a Himalayan Quartz with Garnet and Dolomite from India. I did a bit of research on the internet but I’m still very unsure of what these might be. Anyone confirm?

The growth on this elestial quartz really caught my attention. The layered faces, etched textures, and natural formation make it one of those specimens that's hard to stop looking at. Curious what other collectors think of this piece.

Hey fellow hounds! I just added this unpolished Dumortierite slab from Namibia to my collection. It was cut from a dense pegmatite chunk, and the saw marks are still slightly visible on the face. If you’ve ever worked with this material, you know it's a dream for cabbing because it sits at a 7 on the Mohs hardness scale (matching the quartz matrix it forms in). This uniform hardness means it doesn't undercut easily or pit like other multi-mineral slabs.

When it's dry, the denim-blue pockets look completely matte and a bit muted. But when you wet the surface, those deep indigo and violet tones instantly explode. I'm highly torn on whether I should run this through the cabbing wheels to bring out a vitreous finish or leave it as a rugged, unpolished specimen display.

Click to see how the denim blues wake up when wet!

#rockhounds #lapidary #lapidaryart #cabbing #dumortierite #slab #namibiarocks #mineralcollecting

Anatase Crystals on Matrix from Pakistan 🇵🇰

Love the stepwise growth of crystals

Swat-Pakistan

One of my coolest minerals purchased in Tucson this year.

~15 inches x 7 inches x 4 inches

A wonderful piece of old-stock Wulfenite with Mimetite on a Barite matrix from Rowley Mine in Maricopa County, AZ.

9 inches x 8 x 4
~20lbs

Edit: the title should list spessartine as a species not a variety

Garnet sp. Spessartine on Quartz var. Smoky

Wushan Spessartine Sites, Fujian, China

(Mn2+)3Al2(SiO4)3, Isometric | SiO2, Trigonal

max. 32mm

A specimen representing the classic association of spessartine garnets and smoky quartz from the famous, chinese locality. This particular piece features a number of golden and orange, gemmy spessartine crystals sprinkled atop a perfectly water-clear smoky quartz crystal and is belived to have come from the earliest site production (1998-2001). Once abundant in the market, currently this type of specimens is limited to releases from collections as the site is now within the borders of a national park.

Please note that the use of "Wushan Spessartine Sites" insted of "Wushan Spessartine Mine" for the locale name is deliberate and not a mistake. Given unclear factual status of this locality production, it is more likely to reflect actual conditions of specimens being collected across several sites scattered around the Wu mountain area insted of being mined in a singular mine.

Here’s a neat little amber with an insect trapped inside from Myanmar

Mineral Details:
• Species: Tourmaline (likely Elbaite or Dravite variety)
• Color: Rich green / Verdelite
• Total Weight: 20+ carats
• Shape: Elongated prismatic crystals with striated faces
• Origin: Natural ( Afghanistan )