Minerals:  Smoky Quartz
Locality: Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Dimensions: 145mm x 50mm x 36mm (approx)
Weight: 356g
Provenance: ex. Mala Haslem Collection

Here's a substantial smoky quartz crystal from Diamantina, with exceptional internal clarity, intense lustre and highly detailed natural surface textures. Its broad proportions make it appear smaller in photographs than it feels in hand, with considerable weight and thickness through the body of the crystal.

The quartz is remarkably clear for a specimen of this size, with a cool colouring through much of the crystal and warm golden flashes that reveal themselves when the crystal catches natural light. The column faces are highly reflective, while still retaining the fine horizontal striations and subtle surface patterning that can so easily be lost when material of this quality is polished. Up close, these growth features form an almost digital pattern across sections of the surface and give the crystal considerably more character than a polished finish would.

The crystal has a strong, clean termination and a gently tapered profile, with the earliest suggestion of cathedral like growth beginning to develop along parts of the facets. Combined with its remarkable clarity and preservation, these subtle structural features reward further study.