This is the first Erythrite I have seen. It is rather small - about 4". It came from Bou Azzer in Morocco.

This is a Russian Sphalerite. It is about 6" tall and fairly heavy.

This is a Fluorite sphere. It is the first one I have ever seen. This comes from Jalgaon, India.

This is Kunzite. This one is about 12" tall and fairly thick. It has great color. It comes from Afghanistan.

This is a really nice Chinese Fluorite. It is about 14" tall.

This is a little departure from the minerals. It is a fossil Ammonite. It is one of the largest by far for this species - Peltoceratoides.

This is a very nice Dioptase. The color and sparkle just can't be reproduced on screen. If you can image diamonds and emeralds blended together, that is similar to this specimen.

This is an awesome Stibnite from Japan. It was part of a special collection and has a beautiful blue sheen. It is one of the biggest Stibnites in the collection.

This is one of the most expensive tourmalines I've seen. It is called "Sharon Stone". It is red, purple and blue. The blue is faint, but the purples and reds are really nice.

Here is a really great Fluorite from Illinois.

This is one example of Barite. Apparently, Barite can look like almost anything. It comes in more colors than Sherman-Williams paint. Also, it isn't always transparent. When I first saw this, I thought it was Anglesite. This comes from Nevada.

Yes, it looks like Pyrite, but it is actually a cousin - Arsenopyrite from China.

This is the second Peruvian Pyrite in the collection. It looks like C3PO after a few drinks.

This is a very 'gemy' Vanadinite. This one comes from Morocco. There are several others in this collection, but this one has deeper reds.

This is a Russian Twin Calcite.

This is a Double-Terminated Amethyst Quartz from a mountain in Namibia, Africa.
The purple color 'ghosts' into the clear quartz.

This is a group of Quartz that I photographed today. Each one is drastically different in character, clarity and shape.

This is not the most incredible Quartz, but it does have these great little Pyrite cubes resting in the crevices. This comes from Washington state.

This is the second piece of Pyromorphite in this collection. The first was from America. It was a darker green and the crystals were not as wide.
This comes from China. It has much more yellow in the color. Also, the crystals are much more open - similar to celery. It is on a very brittle matrix.

This is also Mimetite. It has a slightly darker orange color than the other piece.

This is Mimetite. It comes from San Pedro Corralitos, Mexico.

Cerussite and Mottramite. I have seen larger Cerussite. I am not sure why this piece is important. I am going to have to ask our experts about this one.
This comes from the Tsumeb Mine in Namibia.

This is Sphalerite on Calcite. It is always fun to light a shiny, black material next to a white material! There is often a compromise between revealing texture and form, but extreme contrast is added to the mix - lots of fun.
This guy comes from Nikolaevsky, Russia.

I really enjoy Aquamarines. Maybe it has something to do with the color being similar to clear ocean water.
I didn't notice it at first, but this one is joined laterally to another half crystal. Most of the aquamarines I have seen are hexagonal. This one has 6 sides, plus 3 more. I don't know how rare this is, but it makes this piece much thicker.
The crystal is actually twice as long as what is seen here, but it is partially hidden by matrix. The matrix is Muscovite and some other soft white rock.
This piece comes from Pakistan.

So, I thought I would try a little trick I used to use when I shot 4x5. It's the old 'change the focus while dragging the shutter - combining strobe and hot lights' trick. The printed image has a more 'golden' background. This version appears to be copper.
Since this style is somewhat of a departure from the rest of the catalog, I thought I would see how it looked as a cover.