PaQz003 - Quartz var. Smoky - Smoky Mountain Crystal Mine, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, USA

In the summer of 2015, I heard about terrific smoky quartzes being mined in Pennsylvania by Kelly Hilmer. I met Kelly at a small local show and then visited her to see the quartz, which were exceptionally lustrous and gemmy. I purchased a lot of superb miniature and small cabinet specimens, which were very popular at the Denver and Tucson shows and written about in the Mineralogical Record. I have a few specimens left and have placed them on the web.

This is a large specimen, almost appearing like it is from Brazil, with well-formed quartz crystals to 2.3 cm on a spine of milky quartz. The crystals are transparent with zoning of a medium smoky color. All are undamaged; the topmost crystal has a contact with remnants of the pocket matrix embedded. 8.9 x 3.9 x 3.2 cm.