Description
Detailed Description
Brilliant red amethyst crystals of a very particular style from the Diamond Willow Mine, they are red throughout, and so lustrous that they look wet. Unlike the amethysts tinged red by included hematite spherules, these are coloured by consistent red layers and beautiful faint phantoms are visible under magnification. The amethyst purple is only apparent at the outer periphery of the specimen where you can see a couple of crystals in section. Some of the crystals on this piece show nice prism faces, which is uncommon with Thunder Bay amethysts.The piece is a thin plate, which detached from the surrounding rock at the end of the formation phase, and so crystallization and etching patterns are visible all around the specimen, including underneath, and the backs of the crystals at the periphery – when found, this specimen was suspended in the pocket clay. In excellent condition – no damage except a small nick at a crystal tip. Gorgeous jasper-red!
Browse More Thunder Bay Amethysts (click here)
About These Thunder Bay Amethysts
Amethyst from the Thunder Bay District is among the finest in North America, and specimens grace museums and private collections worldwide. The specimens in this group are truly special – they are the top quality Thunder Bay amethyst. Excellent-quality Thunder Bay amethyst is very hard to obtain, primarily because decent-sized vugs collapsed during late-stage formation and post-formation – Mother Nature has damaged the pocket contents before the first human eyes even see them. These specimens are from the collection of David Nicklin, representing the best of all specimens he and his son Ian mined at the Diamond Willow Mine over a period of over 30 years. They are absolutely remarkable for their lustre, colours and lack of damage compared to the vast majority of Thunder Bay amethysts mined over the years. This is a unique opportunity to acquire a Thunder Bay amethyst from a special lot – we don’t expect to be able to see a lot like this again in the future.
A new article is on the website:
Thunder Bay Amethyst (click here). It features lots of photos, including an image sequence of the mining process used by by David and Ian Nicklin to recover amethyst specimens at the Diamond Willow Mine.
Important Note: This lot of Thunder Bay amethyst specimens is being offered jointly with my good friend and collecting partner David Joyce (www.davidkjoyceminerals.com). Different specimens are posted on each of our websites. I hope you will enjoy seeing the ones on his site too:
click here.
