Description

This is a remarkable specimen, featuring a cavity of brilliant sparkling quartz crystals hosting a 1.8 cm ball of terminated malachite crystals. The quartz is tinted a pale aqua blue and the malachite is deep green. These are crystals of “primary malachite”, which are malachite crystals that formed originally as malachite crystals. Most malachite specimens showing crystal morphology are pseudomorphs formed when azurite crystallizes and then malachite subsequently replaces the azurite while retaining the azurite crystal shape. Good specimens of primary malachite crystals are not common. There is no damage to the malachite except that at the right-hand edge there is a spot where enclosing quartz is no longer present and there is a small contact where it was – however this is not visible from the optimal display angle.

This is an excellent specimen!