GB's Wood and Gems

     I have seen Lepidocrosite in a lot of

different Brandberg crystals;Clear,light

 Smoky and Amethyst.Almost every

Brandberg Amethyst I've seen has

contained varying degrees of it.A little

 investigation with the loupe will

reveal its presence.However,the term

'Harlequin' is normally reserved for only

 the clear specimens which contain

the Lepidocrosite.These crystals tend to

be small in size,but their beauty usually

outweighs their size deficit.I have seen

some as long as four inches(10 cm),

but ones that large are very rare.

     The specimen I'm offering here is

6 cm long,a decent size for a Brandberg

Harlequin.The tip appears to be clear

with a few small internal cavities,but

closer examination with a magnifying lens

will reveal a faint,wispy,flame-shaped

phantom which offers both Smoky and

Amethyst!About a third of the way down

from the tip the lepidocrosite suddenly

fills the crystal in dense profusion.Oddly

though,it seems to have formed just under

the surface of the sides and is only present

on three adjacent sides,the other three

being clear!There is a large key on one side

and a another close to the bottom;the bottom

is re-healed.There are healed remnants of

two small crystals present,poking out from

the sides.One has a visible tip which

penetrates into the crystal.Overall,this is

a wonderfull specimen with lots to find and

talk about.There is a chip to the tip which

occured before I came into possesion of the

crystal.

   In the photo above,this is not damage

but instead glyphs which appear on most

of the faces.

       Item BB10..........$35.00

    This is an odd duck,almost startling in its

presence.The crystal itself is water clear,

nearly all the way to the bottom,with the

very bottom being milky.There are so many

 features in this specimen,that it is difficult

to know where to begin;so lets start at the

top.The whole crystal is sharp and

undamaged,the tip is sharp and the faces

are clean;it is very clear in the upper half.

It is a Dow configuration tip,with one of the

 three-sided faces bisected by a prominent

left-facing time line.The phantom is a bright

purple,crystal tip-shaped entity floating on a

base of Smoky phantom.On the left side of

the phantom is a strange mirror-like

formation which resembles the outline of a

crystal;when veiwed from either main side

it is prominent,but when the crystal is

veiwed from the other sides,it disappears

without a trace!About halfway down the

 length of the phantom begins the next odd

feature,dark black roundish masses of an

unknown substance;possibly Hematite(?).

These balls continue down toward the

bottom and are dispersed throughout the

crystal.Next there are cavities/reflective veils

in the lower half,many of which reflect rain-

bows.One of these I beleive contains an

immobile bubble.Small flakes of Lepidocrosite

appear randomly toward the bottom of the

specimen,and there is one larger flake nearer

the middle.There is a large healed key near

the bottom on one side,and there are healed

remnants of long-ago broken protruding

crystals.I don't think that any of these

penetrate,but there does appear to be a

manifestor near the bottom toward center.

The base and all contact areas are self-healed.

Last,but certainly not least,take a magnifier and

explore the outer surface of the crystal and

you will find several tiny sprays of another

unknown mineral,just under the surface.

They appear to be dark in color,and form neat

little bow-tie type sprays.Serious study of these

 would require intense magnification coupled

with proper lighting.This is undoubtably one of

the most interesting crystals I have ever

possesed.

   Small,yet powerfull!5.6 cm long,1.6 cm

wide,and 1.3 cm deep.Also,I forgot to

mention the beautifull rainbow which is

reflected from a foil near the middle of

the crystal and visible from two opposite

sides;stunning!

      Item BB11.......$50.00

      Another of these beautifully purple,

chunky crystals that jusy ooze Amethyst.

This stone closely resembles two others

that I have listed,and I am almost certain

that they came from the same pocket.

This one has rich purple coloration coupled

with a profusion of internal chambers and

reflective veils.Some,as seen in the pictures

will reflect decent rainbows.A very pretty

crystal that just feels good to hold.There is

a slight bit of matrix attached to the very

bottom.5 cm long,2.4 cm wide,and 2.1 cm

deep.

    Item BB12.........$30.00

     This is an unusual Brandberg,because

of its coloration,and because of the way it

is terminated.The color is a very light

Smoky,which is seldom seen in the

Brandbergs.The single termination is sharp

and clear,but the tip seems to be askew,as

though it almost terminated off-center.

The other end is a multi-term with several

well-formed faces and a healed contact area.

There is a very light Smoky phantom near

the tip;it is quite difficult to find,but it is there.

There are many internal cavities near the tip

of the single termination which follow the

contour of the crystal sides and faces.As

is usual with the Brandberg crystals,a

loupe or strong magnifying glass is a

necessity.Upon close examination,it

becomes evident that  the crystal contains

numerous dark globular inclusions,and

some specks of Lepidocrosite as well.One

interesting feature is a side-phantom;quite

unusual.It begins at the juncture of two

sides and two faces,runs down about 1.5

centimeters then cuts across two sides in

a jagged line and ends at the next juncture

of two sides.Overall an interesting peice

that contains some pleasant surprises.

       Very difficult peice to photograph;no

cooperation on the part of the crystal at all!

  4.8 cm long,2.8 cm wide,and 2 cm deep.

      Item BB13.......$25.00