Minerals:  Smoky 'Lemurian' Quartz
Locality: Serra do Cabral, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Dimensions: 95mm x 36mm x 34mm (approx)
Weight: 149g
Provenance: ex. Mala Haslem Collection

Here is an unusually smoky Lemurian quartz from Serra do Cabral, with exceptional internal clarity, a soft golden brown colour and a beautifully developed classic tapered profile.

Smoky examples from this locality are far less commonly encountered than the familiar pale or colourless material, and this crystal has an especially refined shade of smoky. The body remains remarkably clear despite the depth of colour, with warm golden flashes appearing through the quartz as it catches the light.

The column faces carry the strong horizontal striations associated with classic Serra do Cabral material, but there is considerably more detail here on closer inspection. Across the upper faces are a series of fine etched markings and geometric glyph like patterns, including the sharply defined surface features visible around the termination. These sit alongside the more regular striations and give the crystal an unusually complex natural surface.

The combination of smoky colour, clarity, classic Lemurian form and highly detailed etched growth is what made this crystal stand apart for me. It brings together several features that are rarely encountered so strongly in a single Serra do Cabral specimen.