PaQz009 - 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 terrific, lustrous, windowed smoky quartz crystal reminiscent of the amethyst crystals from Namibia. The crystal is slightly sceptered and has zones of smoky and colorless quartz. There are also some inclusions of clay or other matrix in the crystal. No damage. 5.0 x 3.1 x 3.0 cm.