Updated November 17th, 2004

This page will carry the entire series of  updates for the 2004 Munich Show.

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Fluorite	November 17th Chinese Fluorite -  This page is loaded with fluorite - predominantly from the De An mine.  Small miniatures to large cabinet specimens.
Pyrite	November 17th Chinese Minerals - part 1 -  A random assortment of Chinese minerals.
Spessartine & Quartz	November 17th Chinese Minerals - part 2 -  Another random assortment of Chinese minerals.
Kesterite on Aquamarine	November 12th Kesterite & Mushistonite -  French dealer Rene Daulon had several specimens of the rare tin bearing mineral kesterite available from Ping Wu.  These are extremely hard to come by anymore and he'd been rounding these up for me during his last year's travels to China.  All of these except two are crystals only.  One specimen has crystals on muscovite matrix and the other is an exceptional specimen with crystals on tabular aquamarine crystals.
Mimetite	November 12th Chinese Mimetite -  These are a few more of the Chinese mimetite specimens I found at the Denver Show.  Prices range from $85 to $2000.
Fluorite on Barite Aquamarine & Schorl Aeschynite-Y	November 12th Various Munich Show minerals -  This is an interesting group of minerals from the Munich Show which includes specimens from the very rare to the very aesthetic.
Curly Malachite	November 12th Curly Malachite -  Several years ago there was quite a stir in the mineral world over a find of malachite from Austria. I was quite pleased to see specimens from the Schwaz-Brixlegg find available with German dealer Peter Wittur.  He had two that were pretty decent so I bought them. He informed me that this locality is impossible to collect at further so I was happy to get them.  I took the larger of the two and generated three specimens by trimming it. I have also stabilized these specimens with hair spray.  Saying that these are delicate and fragile is a gross understatement.
Realgar	November 12th Chinese Realgar -  I saw these realgar specimens from the Shimen Mine at the show last year and was convinced that they were some of the finest realgar specimens I'd ever seen.  The crystals are prismatic and might as well be red glass.  The matrix is calcite and is either massive or comprised of scalenohedral crystals.  The pictures tell the story better than I can.
Spinel	November 12th Tanzanian Spinel -  German dealer Jentsch Minerals had a new find of spinel from Morogoro, Tanzania.  I found a small group of decent specimens as thumbnails up to minaitures.  The dominant color is violet for these.
Dioptase	November 12th Peruvian Dioptase -  Spanish dealer Luis Miguel Fernandez Burillo who had some specimens of dioptase from a new find at the Cobra Mine, Pampa, Nazca, ICA, Peru.   The dioptase crystals are typically associated with chyrsocolla.
Apatite	November 12th Brazilian Apatites from New Finds -  Brazilian dealer Luiz Menezes had a group of apatite specimens from two new finds - the Sapo Mine in Minas Gerais and from Espirito Santo.
Microlite	November 12th Microlite Crystals -  Brazilian dealer Luiz Menezes had a small hoard of crystals of microlite from a new find at the Urubu Mine in Intinga, Minas Gerais. Several of the crystals are gemmy and a few are complete floaters.
Calcite	November 8th Calcite -  French dealer Laurent Thomas had some remarkable calcite specimens from a new find from Sambava, Antsirana, Madagascar.  These crystals are extraordinary in that they are twinned on the 0*18 face and then that twin is twinned on the 00*1!  The crystals are associated with laumontite and/or stilbite in some cases.   There is one specimen in this update with superb and unaltered crystals of laumontite.  I can not overstate the exceptional rarity of twinned calcite like these.
Spinel	November 8th Blue Spinel -  Laurent was also carrying some new specimens of indigo blue spinel crystals from near Beronono, Toliara, Madagascar, which were etched out down to the siliceous matrix.  What is most unusual about these is that the crystals are dominantly dodecahedral!  Not the typical octahedral form usually found with spinel. But simple dodecahedrons - many with trapezohedral face modifications.  The colors are primarily blue to indigo blue though some have violet hues. I was quite pleased to be able to plow through Laurent's material and find two perfect dodecahedral floaters and a number of decent matrix specimens.
Aragonite	November 8th Aragonite -  German dealer Uli Burchard had a small hoard of these attractive specimens of aragonite lightly colored by the presence of copper.  These come from the Sioux Ajax Mine, Juab County, Utah. They have an attractive habit with the two forms of mineralization.
Erythrite	November 8th Erythrite -  I found several dealers in Hall A4 offering erythrite specimens from Bou Azzer, Morocco. The vast majority are typically beat up and damaged though there were some there, that if sought out, could provide quality specimens with some cleaning and trimming.
Chinese Quartz	November 8th Hematite included Quartz - I saw some attractive quartz with hematite phantoms specimens from Megu, Sichuan, China with several dealers however the best were found with French dealer Rene Daulon and Chinese dealer Tienwen and Jinshi Liu of Southwest China Mineral Museum.
Scorodite	November 8th Color change Scorodite -  I met up with Ernesto Ossola in Hall A5.  He has recently moved to Tucson and is excited with his future there.   Anyway, he had some fine specimens of scorodite from Ahgbar, Morocco that have extraordinary color change properties more akin to alexandrite.  Indoors the color is deep red and outside it is greenish blue.  I made a nice selection and enjoyed a glass of red wine with Ernesto made by a Spanish farmer.
Hessonite	November 8th Denver Show minerals -  This link will take you a group of random minerals found at the Denver Show.
Chrome Sphene	November 8th Chrome Sphene on Kammererite - Russian dealer Yury Tsygankov had one specimen of kammererite with scattered crystals of chrome sphene from Sarani, Russia.  He brought a few specimens of these from this small and limited find last year to the show which were dazzling but all loose crystals and quickly scooped up.  I saw this large cabinet piece and did not hessitate to get it thinking that it would be suitable  to break it up into smaller pieces.
Roselite	November 8th Roselite -  I found a Moroccan dealer with a large specimen with large scattered crystals of roselite to over 1 cm in length!  I sensed an opportunity to create some nice thumbnail specimens withlarge crystals.  This small group all came from the same rock.