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. When this specimen 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. Otherwise, pieces like this would certainly not have been preserved but rather converted into jewellery. This piece matches onto the front of, and is part of an opposite face of, the larger example in the auction. Mike bought the entire specimen including the facing side that had been produced when the miners split open the seam in the rock, to find the opal band within. One can only imagine their reaction and excitement when a single boulder was split, and opened naturally along the thick opal band within, to reveal each side. A large and quality 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 natural sandstone host rock shows off a gorgeous horizontal band of opal that perhaps resembles a "seascape" atop of the matrix of sandstone. The surface layer of multicolored opal is cutting/carving quality. With a custom lucite base. 14.2 x 13.0 x 6.0 cm (5.5 x 5.1 x 2.3in.) and 1.1 kg.

Ex Mike Scott collection