Calcite on Quartz

Mike Brooke’s Collection, which we purchased in mid-2022, contained many fine specimens of Calcite from Geevor mine at Pendeen, close to St. Just at the south western tip of Cornwall. Throughout its last period of operation Mike maintained a close partnership with the miners, so had the pick of top-quality specimens. It was, and remains, a mine famous for its exceptional variety and quality of Calcite crystals, especially those coloured in various shades of orange, a fairly rare colour in the mineral kingdom. This miniature is one of pure delight, a statement made without any form of hype whatsoever. Calcite crystals of a delicate peachy apricot are aesthetically scattered over a surface of jet black, sooty Goethite, itself coating tiny lenticular Calcite blades. The combination of its colour and underlying topography gives the Goethite an uncanny blackness, which I can only liken this to graphine black, with an albedo approaching zero. The peachy Calcite crystal looks magnificent set against this background. The matrix is milky Quartz with a surface of euhedral crystals, over which the lenticular Calcites sit. It is simply beautiful.