Most consider that the best natural smoky quartz crystals in the world come fromthe Swiss Alps. These crystals, for hundreds of years, have been famed for their quality and clarity, the intense sparkly surfaces and depths of gemminess within. Mountain climbers called strahlers risk their lives each summer season to collect crystals in the high and dangerous alpine clefts, more familiar to skiers than mineralogists. These crystals are natural treasures, and hard to extract and bring down the mountain. This piece features sharp crystals of a gorgeous jet black color, yet translucent to transparent when well lit. They are clustered on a small plate of granite matrix, from which they splay out dramatically. Most specimens are extracted by picking them off walls or picking them up from collapsed pockets. Finding a large specimen on actual host rock, and getting it out and down the mountain, is much more uncommon. This fine display piece was in the curated collection of Brent Lockhart of Larkspur, CO. He is a former oil and gas industry geophysicist who spent decades quietly working with multiple sources and scouts towards building one of the finest quality display collections of Swiss minerals, whilst based in the USA. For balance and beauty, this is hard to beat. With custom lucite base. 12 x 10.5 x 10 cm (4.7 x 4.1 x 3.9 in.) and 1.41 kg.

Ex Brent Lockhart Collection