Reference Specimens / France / Fabre Minerals

This page provides a selection of the specimens that have passed through the Fabre Minerals website and, due to their quality,
rarity, or significance as specimens from interesting locations, have been preserved as reference specimens in #MVM

Chessy-les-Mines

Azurite

Recorded under neon light

MTT66CD4: Group of perfectly sharp and doubly terminated Azurite crystals, two of them clearly dominant and very aerial, that present polycrystalline growths, with the rhombic morphology clearly visible. This specimen comes from the type locality for the species, and retains its color and extraordinary luster. Associated with small scattered remnants of Malachite.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 2.6 × 2.2 × 1.4 cm = 1.02” × 0.87” × 0.55”

Main crystal size: 1.8 × 1.1 cm = 0.71” × 0.43”

Type locality

Azurite

Fluorescent light (daylight)

TQF14AP6: Floater group of very sharp Azurite crystals, with very distinct polycrystalline growths, with bright luster and intense color.
A French classic, from the type locality for the species.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 2.9 × 2.1 × 1.5 cm = 1.14” × 0.83” × 0.59”

Type locality

Front

Rear

Azurite with Malachite

EM26X0: Floater spheroidal aggregate of short prismatic crystals with very well defined faces and slightly curved edges, with a more luminous color than usual, and a growth of Malachite which is probably a pseudomorph after primary crystals of Cuprite. A French classic.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 2.9 × 2.7 × 2 cm = 1.14” × 1.06” × 0.79”

Main crystal size: 0.8 × 0.7 cm = 0.31” × 0.28”

Type locality

Former collection of Claus Hedegaard. Number 10869

Azurite with Malachite

Fluorescent light (daylight)

TFB90AP5: Group of very sharp flattened Azurite crystals with a bright luster and vivid color, with Malachite coatings. This specimen, which is of high quality for the locality, the type locality for Azurite, comes from the collection of Robert-Auguste Touchon, whose handwritten label we will send to the buyer.
This piece has been reviewed, photographed, and published as a reference specimen in Ste. Marie 2023 by the Russian magazine ‘Mineral Observer’ on page 50 in the volume 28/2023, number 3
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 3.4 × 3 × 1.1 cm = 1.34” × 1.18” × 0.43”

Main crystal size: 1.2 × 0.5 cm = 0.47” × 0.20”

Type locality

Former collection of Robert-Auguste Touchon

Azurite with Malachite after Cuprite

Front

Rear

EB16AI1: Druse of equant Azurite crystals with a very vivid and intense bright color. They have some Malachite growths with a silky luster that replaced Cuprite crystals.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France (2005-2009)

Specimen size: 3.9 × 3.9 × 2.5 cm = 1.54” × 1.54” × 0.98”

Main crystal size: 0.3 × 0.2 cm = 0.12” × 0.08”

Type locality

Azurite with Malachite after Cuprite

MY47AB6: Floater aggregate of short-prismatic crystals with very well defined faces and slightly curved edges, with a vivid blue color and with octahedral Malachite pseudomorphs after Cuprite. This attractive miniature is an excellent French classic.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 3.8 × 2.6 × 1.9 cm = 1.50” × 1.02” × 0.75”

Main crystal size: 1 × 0.8 cm = 0.39” × 0.31”

Type locality

Front

Rear

Azurite

Front

Side

Fluorescent light (daylight)

EBY57AO1: Floater group of short prismatic Azurite crystals, almost equant, with very sharp crystal forms, good luster and a more vivid blue color than usual for the locality. The classic French type locality for the species.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France (2005-2009)

Specimen size: 4.1 × 3.1 × 2.4 cm = 1.61” × 1.22” × 0.94”

Main crystal size: 2.2 × 1.8 cm = 0.87” × 0.71”

Type locality

Azurite with Malachite

MR89Y4: Floater aggregate of crystals with very well defined faces and edges, with a very intense blue color and, in some zones on the sample, partially substituted by Malachite. An excellent French classic.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 4.4 × 3.4 × 3.4 cm = 1.73” × 1.34” × 1.34”

Main crystal size: 1.5 × 1.2 cm = 0.59” × 0.47”

Type locality

Front

Rear

Azurite

Front

Rear

EC68AL3: Group of flattened and highly profiled crystals with sharp faces and edges and polycrystalline surfaces with a very intense, deep and uniform color. Higher quality than usual in Chessy-les-Mines, type locality of the species.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France (1995-1998)

Specimen size: 4.5 × 3.2 × 2.1 cm = 1.77” × 1.26” × 0.83”

Main crystal size: 2.7 × 2.2 cm = 1.06” × 0.87”

Type locality

Azurite with Malachite and Baryte

EM86AG9: Group of Azurite crystals with a short prismatic shape, some of them doubly terminated, with parallel growths and with small Baryte crystals and Malachite coatings.
A good French classic.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France (2017)

Specimen size: 4.6 × 3.6 × 2.4 cm = 1.81” × 1.42” × 0.94”

Main crystal size: 0.5 × 0.4 cm = 0.20” × 0.16”

Type locality

Azurite

Side

Front

Rear

Fluorescent light (daylight)

EP93AM1: Group of very sharp Azurite crystals with a lenticular habit, with fine polycrystalline growths, very well defined faces and edges and more vivid color, transparency and luster than usual in Chessy specimens.
The specimen, from the type locality for the species, comes from the Alain Martaud collection whose label we will send to the buyer. This high-quality specimen is from a find from 1820.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France (±1820)

Specimen size: 4.7 × 2.6 × 2.8 cm = 1.85” × 1.02” × 1.10”

Main crystal size: 3 × 1.6 cm = 1.18” × 0.63”

Type locality

Former collection of Alain Martaud

Azurite with Baryte

Fluorescent light (daylight)

MHX47AO2: Group of very sharp tabular Azurite crystals, with polycrystalline growths on their faces, with good luster and a deeper and more vivid color than usual in specimens from this locality. With small white tabular Baryte crystals.
From the type locality for the species.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 4.7 × 3.8 × 2.5 cm = 1.85” × 1.50” × 0.98”

Main crystal size: 1.8 × 1 cm = 0.71” × 0.39”

Type locality

Azurite with Malachite after Cuprite

Front

Rear

EC96AI1: Rosette growths of Azurite crystals with a thick tabular shape. They are very sharp and bright with a vivid color and have Malachite growths with a silky luster that replaced Cuprite crystals, and they also are with small Quartz fragments.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France (2005-2009)

Specimen size: 5 × 3.5 × 3.2 cm = 1.97” × 1.38” × 1.26”

Main crystal size: 0.7 × 0.1 cm = 0.28” × 0.04”

Type locality

Azurite with Malachite after Azurite

LY30AK0: Group of equidimensional crystals of Azurite with sharp faces and edges, very bright colors and partially covered by a cute group of Malachite after Azurite crystals. A French classic from the Philippe Morelon collection (number 345) whose label, which includes more information on the back, will be sent to the buyer.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France (1998)

Specimen size: 5.2 × 4.6 × 2.6 cm = 2.05” × 1.81” × 1.02”

Main crystal size: 1.7 × 0.7 cm = 0.67” × 0.28”

Former collection of Philippe Morelon

Azurite

Recorded under neon light

MRX37CD5: Aggregate of fine tabular Azurite crystals forming rosettes of very vivid and uniform color, on small remnants of blackish rock matrix. The morphology of the crystals stands out, forming a lattice of concentric growth from the matrix, an unusual habit for Azurite specimens from Chessy-les-Mines, the type locality for this mineral species. A very fine specimen.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 5.9 × 4.9 × 2.8 cm = 2.32” × 1.93” × 1.10”

Main crystal size: 0.2 × 0.2 cm = 0.08” × 0.08”

Type locality

Azurite

MB50AE2: Botryoidal and spheroidal aggregates of small rhombohedral crystals that are bright and have a very vivid and uniform color. A French classic of great quality.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 6.1 × 4.7 × 3.3 cm = 2.40” × 1.85” × 1.30”

Main crystal size: 2 × 1.9 cm = 0.79” × 0.75”

Type locality

Azurite

Front

Side

SV26AB6: Aggregate of very sharp crystals between prismatic and thick-tabular, with very well defined faces and edges, a very intense color and on matrix. On the back of the Stoppani label is recorded that the sample previously was on the B.S. Lloyd collection. An extraordinary French classic. As is the case with so many specimens in this collection, the sample is of great quality for the locality.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 6.8 × 4.6 × 2.6 × cm = 2.68” × 1.81” × 1.02”

Main crystal size: 1.8 × 1.4 cm = 0.71” × 0.55”

Type locality

Former collection of Francesco S. Stoppani

Azurite with Malachite after Cuprite

Fluorescent light (daylight)

MLT74AP3: Obtained at Munich 2022
Floater spheroidal aggregate of flattened Azurite crystals with very sharp crystal forms, with a vivid blue color and with small coatings of Malachite crystals pseudomorphing cuprite. A French classic of high quality that comes from the type locality for the species.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 7 × 5.5 × 5.4 cm = 2.76” × 2.17” × 2.13”

Type locality

Front

Rear

Azurite with Malachite

EQ36Y7: Flattened, almost lenticular, Azurite crystals with sharp and very well defined faces and edges, with a very vivid color, very good luster and showing Malachite replacements on some of the faces.
The sample, an excellent French classic from the beginnings of the 19th century, has a quite better quality than usual on samples from the locality, and it is from the ancient collection of Quintino Sella (number 214) whose label, unfortunately, was lost.

Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France (±1840)

Specimen size: 7.3 × 6 × 2 cm = 2.87” × 2.36” × 0.79”

Main crystal size: 1.5 × 1 cm = 0.59” × 0.39”

Type locality

Azurite

MXA74CD4: A historical piece. Fine sharp tabular Azurite crystal aggregate with very visible flat faces of very brilliant luster and intense blue color forming rosettes crisscrossed with each other. The specimen stands out both for its good size as well as for its origin, the primitive 'Mine Bleu' opened by miners in 1811, and which yielded numerous vugs full of Azurite, as evidenced by this specimen.
It comes from the Moutet collection of Marseille with an original Deyrolle label that came attached to a cardboard box and that we will send to the buyer.
Mine Bleu, Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 7.8 × 6.5 × 3.7 cm = 3.07” × 2.56” × 1.46”

Main crystal size: 1.2 × 0.3 cm = 0.47” × 0.12”

Type locality

Former collection of Moutet (Marseille)

Front / Photo: Joaquim Callén

Detail / Photo: Joaquim Callén

Recorded under neon light

Azurite with Baryte

Front

Rear

Fluorescent light (daylight)

MHV90AO2: Polycrystalline growths of very sharp, translucent, lustrous, equant Azurite crystals with a deeper color and brighter than usual in specimens from this locality. With small white tabular Baryte crystals.
From the type locality for the species.
Mine Bleu, Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 8.1 × 5.1 × 4.3 cm = 3.19” × 2.01” × 1.69”

Main crystal size: 1 × 0.5 cm = 0.39” × 0.20”

Type locality

Malachite after Cuprite

NT26AN2: Malachite pseudomorph after a complete floater crystal of Cuprite, very sharp, octahedral, and beveled by dodecahedron forms. A quality French classic.
This piece comes from the Ignacio Gaspar collection (number CUP-7), whose label we will send to the buyer.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 1 × 1 × 1.2 cm = 0.39” × 0.39” × 0.47”

Former collection of Ignacio Gaspar

Front

Top

Malachite after Cuprite

EM14AN2: Malachite pseudomorphs after a complete floater group of dodecahedral Cuprite crystals, one of them clearly dominant.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 2 × 1.6 × 1.4 cm = 0.79” × 0.63” × 0.55”

Main crystal size: 1.2 × 1.2 cm = 0.47” × 0.47”

Malachite after Cuprite with Azurite

Fluorescent light (daylight)

LK73AL6: Malachite pseudomorphs after octahedral crystals of Cuprite, very large for the locality, aerial, with deep hopper growths and implanted on an Azurite matrix from the type locality for this species.
A French classic from the Philippe Morelon collection, whose label we will send to the buyer.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France (1980)

Specimen size: 4.1 × 4.1 × 3.1 cm = 1.61” × 1.61” × 1.22”

Main crystal size: 2.6 × 2.1 cm = 1.02” × 0.83”

Type locality

Former collection of Philippe Morelon

Front

Rear

Malachite after Azurite

ST90AB4: Aggregate of lenticular Malachite crystals pseudomorphous after Azurite, with very well defined faces and edges and on matrix, with Azurite and Malachite. As is the case with so many specimens in this collection, the sample is of great quality for the locality.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 5 × 3.3 × 2.8 cm = 1.97” × 1.30” × 1.10”

Main crystal size: 1.1 × 0.6 cm = 0.43” × 0.24”

Type locality

Former collection of Francesco S. Stoppani

Malachite after Cuprite with Azurite

EF66AN1: Floater group of Malachite pseudomorphs after Cuprite crystals with one of the crystals clearly dominant and with a sharp octahedral habit. Partially covered by groups of small Azurite crystals, an association that is not so frequent in Chessy, type locality for that species.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 1.7 × 1.6 × 1.3 cm = 0.67” × 0.63” × 0.51”

Main crystal size: 1.2 × 1.2 cm = 0.47” × 0.47”

Type locality

Front

Side

Malachite after Cuprite

EC14AD6: Aggregate of Malachite pseudomorphous after dodecahedral Cuprite crystals, with smooth and very well defined faces, free of further alteration. A French classic and an excellent miniature.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 1.7 × 1.7 × 1.3 cm = 0.67” × 0.67” × 0.51”

Main crystal size: 0.9 × 0.9 cm = 0.35” × 0.35”

Malachite after Cuprite

EA27AF6: Complete floater group of very sharp pseudocrystals after cuprite, which are octahedrons beveled by the dodecahedron. The sample is from recent and surprising finds on the old dumps area at Chessy.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France (2017)

Specimen size: 1.8 × 1.5 × 1.4 cm = 0.71” × 0.59” × 0.55”

Main crystal size: 1.7 × 1.4 cm = 0.67” × 0.55”

Front

Side

Malachite after Cuprite

Front

Side

EH14AE8: Aggregate of Malachite replacing dodecahedral Cuprite crystals. The former Cuprite crystals are very well defined, with smooth faces, a uniform green color and are on matrix.
A French classic that is with an old German label from an unknown collector that we’ll send to the buyer.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 2.2 × 1.7 × 2.2 cm = 0.87” × 0.67” × 0.87”

Main crystal size: 0.9 × 0.9 cm = 0.35” × 0.35”

Malachite after Cuprite

TP99AK7: Floater intergrowth of octahedral crystals of Malachite pseudomorphic after Cuprite, very well shaped and larger than usual. A French classic of high quality.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 2.7 × 2.6 × 2.3 cm = 1.06” × 1.02” × 0.91”

Main crystal size: 1.2 × 1 cm = 0.47” × 0.39”

Front

Top

Malachite after Cuprite with Azurite

Front

Side

EV90AM2: Octahedral Malachite pseudomorph after a Cuprite crystal, with shallow hopper faces and implanted in a floater group of small Azurite crystals. A French classic.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 3.2 × 2.2 × 2.4 cm = 1.26” × 0.87” × 0.94”

Main crystal size: 1 × 0.8 cm = 0.39” × 0.31”

Type locality

Orthoserpierite

Fluorescent light (daylight)

EFM14AO1: Centered aggregates on matrix of acicular Orthoserpierite crystals, with bright luster and a bluish green color. The specimen, a rare hydrated calcium, copper and zinc sulfate, is from the type locality for the species and comes from the collection of Alain Martaud, whose label we will send to the buyer.
Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes France

Specimen size: 6.9 × 5 × 3.9 cm = 2.72” × 1.97” × 1.54”

Type locality

Former collection of Alain Martaud

Gold with Quartz

MR30AI5: A kind of novelty at Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 2018, where this Gold appeared to the collectible trade for the first time. It forms very bright laminar growths and coatings on an aggregate of Quartz crystals very much more defined than usual for the locality. The locality, as is usual for a lot of novelties, is approximate and generic, so we are waiting for some more precise data.
Loudéac, Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany/Bretagne France

Specimen size: 2.5 × 1.1 × 1.1 cm = 0.98” × 0.43” × 0.43”

Weight: 4.1 grams

Front

Rear

Side

Galena after Pyromorphite (variety sexangulite)

Front

Rear

Galena after Pyromorphite (variety sexangulite). Top

Top

TG47AL6: Galena pseudomorphs after a group of prismatic Pyromorphite crystals, one of them clearly dominant. As can be seen by the tiny cleavages at the base of the specimen, the substitution of Pyromorphite by Galena is complete. A great French classic, very hard to come by.
Huelgoat, Châteaulin, Finistère, Brittany/Bretagne France

Specimen size: 2 × 1.4 × 1 cm = 0.79” × 0.55” × 0.39”

Galena after Pyromorphite (variety sexangulite)

Fluorescent light (daylight)

EMJ49AQ1: Galena pseudomorphs after Pyromorphite (sexangulite variety)
Aerial prismatic crystals of Pyromorphite pseudomorphed by Galena (variety sexangulite), on matrix. An old specimen, a rarity with "pedigree" and subjected to numerous avatars, as evidenced by the extensive accompanying labels. From the collection of Ferdinand Gonnard it went to the École de Mines in Paris, and from there to a German collector whose name was not preserved, to be, later, commercialized and passed successively to Frédéric Bonnet, Maxime Tomljanovic, Thierry Buléon, and Benjamín Carballo. This type of specimen is so difficult to obtain that it is not surprising that it moved through so many collections.

Huelgoat, Châteaulin, Finistère, Brittany/Bretagne France

Specimen size: 3.6 × 2.6 × 1.8 cm = 1.42” × 1.02” × 0.71”

Main crystal size: 0.5 × 0.4 cm = 0.20” × 0.16”

Former collection of Ferdinand Gonnard

Former collection of Maxime Tomljanovic

Galena after Pyromorphite

Recorded under neon light

MFP30CD3: Aggregate of prismatic Pyromorphite crystals partially pseudomorphed by Galena, with the dominant forms of the prism and a very flattened pinacoid termination. The crystals are sharper than usual, as is its state of conservation.
This specimen, a classic of French mineralogy, comes from the collection of duplicates of Carles Curto (number 1965.32) whose digital file we will send to the buyer of the piece.
Huelgoat, Châteaulin, Finistère, Brittany/Bretagne France

Specimen size: 4.9 × 3.9 × 2.4 cm = 1.93” × 1.54” × 0.94”

Main crystal size: 1.4 × 1.3 cm = 0.55” × 0.51”

Former collection of Carles Curto (duplicates)

Gold with Quartz

Fluorescent light (daylight)

EXL99AQ1: Group of generally hooked Gold crystals, some with crystal forms deformed by curvatures.
The specimen comes from a find at the end of the 19th century in a locality practically unknown by the Gold seekers of the time, although reported subsequently in scientific and popular publications, and was discovered by chance among the minerals for sale at a local merchant.
Hennebont, Lorient, Morbihan, Brittany/Bretagne France (±1880)

Specimen size: 1.7 × 1.2 × 0.5 cm = 0.67” × 0.47” × 0.20”

Weight: 2.5 grams

Front

Rear

Gold on Quartz

Front

Side

Fluorescent light (daylight)

EYP3AQ1: Dendritic growths of generally hooked crystals, some with crystal forms deformed by curvatures, on Quartz matrix.
The specimen comes from a find at the end of the 19th century in a location practically unknown by the Gold seekers of the time, although it was later reported in scientific and popular publications, and was discovered by chance among the minerals for sale at a local merchant.
Hennebont, Lorient, Morbihan, Brittany/Bretagne France (±1880)

Specimen size: 4.1 × 2.5 × 2.2 cm = 1.61” × 0.98” × 0.87”

Cassiterite with Quartz and Mica

Fluorescent light (daylight)

TXH46AP5: Group of twinned Cassiterite crystals, one of them clearly dominant, with sharp crystal forms, lustrous, on matrix, something not very common in specimens from this classic locality.
The specimen comes from the collection of Robert-Auguste Touchon.
La Villeder, Le Roc-Saint-André, Vannes, Morbihan, Brittany/Bretagne France

Specimen size: 2.8 × 2.7 × 2 cm = 1.10” × 1.06” × 0.79”

Main crystal size: 2.2 × 1.2 cm = 0.87” × 0.47”

Former collection of Robert-Auguste Touchon

Cassiterite with Quartz and Mica

Front

Side

Fluorescent light (daylight)

TTE46AP5: Twinned Cassiterite crystal with sharp crystal forms, lustrous, on matrix, something not too common in specimens from this classic locality.
The specimen comes from the collection of Robert-Auguste Touchon, whose handwritten label
we will send to the buyer.
La Villeder, Le Roc-Saint-André, Vannes, Morbihan, Brittany/Bretagne France

Specimen size: 3.4 × 3 × 2.4 cm = 1.34” × 1.18” × 0.94”

Main crystal size: 2.1 × 2 cm = 0.83” × 0.79”

Former collection of Robert-Auguste Touchon

Cassiterite with Quartz

TFR26AN4: Group of twinned Cassiterite crystals with sharp crystal forms, lustrous and on matrix, something not common in specimens from this classic locality.
This piece is from the Alain Martaud collection.
La Villeder, Le Roc-Saint-André, Vannes, Morbihan, Brittany/Bretagne France (±1900)

Specimen size: 5.2 × 2.8 × 4.4 cm = 2.05” × 1.10” × 1.73”

Main crystal size: 2 × 1.4 cm = 0.79” × 0.55”

Former collection of Alain Martaud

Cassiterite with Quartz

Front

Side

Fluorescent light (daylight)

SV2180TJD: Complex Cassiterite crystal showing polycrystalline growths on the faces of the crystal with dark brown tones, embedded in a matrix of Quartz.
It comes from an already extinct deposit exploited for beryllium, molybdenum and tin, and worked since Roman times. A real oldie.
La Villeder, Le Roc-Saint-André, Vannes, Morbihan, Brittany/Bretagne France (±1900)

Specimen size: 5.2 × 4 × 2.5 cm = 2.05” × 1.57” × 0.98”

Main crystal size: 1.9 × 1.5 cm = 0.75” × 0.59”

Cassiterite

Fluorescent light (daylight)

ELR66AO9: Obtained at Ste. Marie 2022
Group of twinned Cassiterite crystals with very sharp crystal forms, lustrous, and of exceptional size. A rare French classic of very high quality.
La Villeder, Le Roc-Saint-André, Vannes, Morbihan, Brittany/Bretagne France (±1900)

Specimen size: 6.5 × 6.1 × 4 cm = 2.56” × 2.40” × 1.57”

Main crystal size: 6.5 × 3.6 cm = 2.56” × 1.42”

Front

Top

Gold with Quartz

Front

Rear

Side

MT89AI5: A kind of novelty at Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 2018, where this Gold appeared to the collectible trade for the first time. It forms very bright laminar growths and coatings on an aggregate of Quartz crystals very much more defined than usual for the locality. The locality, as is usual for a lot of novelties, is approximate and generic, so we are waiting for some more precise data.
Loudéac, Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany/Bretagne France

Specimen size: 2.6 × 1.6 × 0.9 cm = 1.02” × 0.63” × 0.35”

Weight: 4.9 grams

Gold with Quartz

EF88AH9: A kind of novelty at Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 2018, where it appeared to the collectible trade for the first time. Gold forms very bright laminar growths and coatings on an aggregate of deformed Quartz crystals. The locality, as is usual for a lot of novelties, is approximate and generic, so we are waiting for some more precise data.
Loudéac, Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany/Bretagne France

Specimen size: 2.7 × 1.5 × 1 cm = 1.06” × 0.59” × 0.39”

Front	Rear
Top

Pyromorphite with Fluorite

Fluorescent light (daylight)

EJB48AO0: Coatings of Pyromorphite crystals with a tapered shape with pyramidal terminations, transparent, with good luster and an intense and uniform green color and covering a matrix of transparent and very lustrous cubic Fluorite crystals. High quality for the deposit.
Chaillac Mine, Chaillac, Le Blanc, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire France

Specimen size: 3.8 × 3.1 × 3.2 cm = 1.50” × 1.22” × 1.26”

Main crystal size: 0.2 × 0.1 cm = 0.08” × 0.04”

Pyromorphite with Fluorite

Fluorescent light (daylight)

EXM57AO0: Coatings of Pyromorphite crystals with a tapered shape with pyramidal terminations, transparent, with good luster and an intense and uniform green color and covering a matrix of transparent and very lustrous cubic Fluorite crystals. High quality for the deposit.
Chaillac Mine, Chaillac, Le Blanc, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire France

Specimen size: 5.4 × 4.2 × 2.1 cm = 2.13” × 1.65” × 0.83”

Main crystal size: 0.2 × 0.1 cm = 0.08” × 0.04”

Pyromorphite with Fluorite

Fluorescent light (daylight)

EFG56AN9: Coatings of Pyromorphite crystals with a tapered habit, some with hopper terminations, with good luster and an intense and uniform green color, on a matrix of transparent and very lustrous cubic Fluorite crystals. High quality for the deposit.
Chaillac Mine, rossignol vein, Chaillac, Le Blanc, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire France

Specimen size: 5.9 × 5.4 × 2.6 cm = 2.32” × 2.13” × 1.02”

Main crystal size: 0.5 × 0.1 cm = 0.20” × 0.04”

Pyromorphite with Fluorite

Fluorescent light (daylight)

EFR97AN5: Pyromorphite crystals, some doubly terminated, with sharp crystal forms and slightly curved edges, on a group of colorless Fluorite crystals, between translucent and transparent.
A French classic that comes from the Alain Martaud collection, whose label we will send to the buyer.
Chaillac Mine, rossignol vein, Chaillac, Le Blanc, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire France

Specimen size: 8.4 × 4 × 3 cm = 3.31” × 1.57” × 1.18”

Main crystal size: 1 × 0.4 cm = 0.39” × 0.16”

Former collection of Alain Martaud

Fluorite fluorescent long & short UV

Front

Rear

Pyromorphite on Fluorite

TR94T7: Aggregate formed by a first generation of very elongated crystals with acute terminations, some polycrystalline, with a dark brown color and a matrix of Fluorite. Most of the individuals are overgrown by a second generation of microcrystals with a very much lighter color. An unusual classic.
Chaillac Mine, rossignol vein, Chaillac, Le Blanc, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire France

Specimen size: 11.2 × 10.1 × 4.2 cm = 4.41” × 3.98” × 1.65”

Main crystal size: 0.6 × 0.1 cm = 0.24” × 0.04”

Minor fluorescence long & short UV

Fluorite with Pyromorphite and Baryte

ER56AM2: Sharp transparent Fluorite crystals, very rich in white inclusions, with thin platy Baryte crystals and partially covered by small greenish yellow crystals of Pyromorphite. From a classic French mine.
Chaillac Mine, rossignol vein, Chaillac, Le Blanc, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire France

Specimen size: 4.8 × 4.1 × 2.1 cm = 1.89” × 1.61” × 0.83”

Main crystal size: 1 × 0.8 cm = 0.39” × 0.31”

Fluorescent long & short UV

Fluorite with Baryte

TZ71X7: Aggregate of sharp cubic crystals, between translucent and transparent, with intense yellow color and partially coated by “book” shaped aggregates of White Baryte crystals. An excellent French classic.
Chaillac Mine, rossignol vein, Chaillac, Le Blanc, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire France

Specimen size: 9 × 7.3 × 3.5 cm = 3.54” × 2.87” × 1.38”

Main crystal size: 2.2 × 2 cm = 0.87” × 0.79”

Fluorescent long & short UV

Former collection of Gilles Emringer

Cerussite

EA47AC8: Aggregate of white Cerussite crystals with a silky luster and a fibrous appearance (“jackstraw”). Besides that the quality of the sample is excellent, We also note that, in this locality, good samples for collectors are very scarce.
Chaillac Mine, Chaillac, Le Blanc, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire France (±1980)

Specimen size: 4.3 × 3.6 × 2.1 cm = 1.69” × 1.42” × 0.83”

Main crystal size: 2.6 × 0.6 cm = 1.02” × 0.24”

Fluorescent short UV

Cerussite

Front	Rear

MF99AF1: Very aerial aggregate of flattened crystals with a very well defined twin. Their white color contrasts with the brown of the oxide inclusions. The sample is from a classic French locality and has great quality.
The specimen has been photographed and published in the magazine ‘Paragénesis’, number 01/2017, page 84
Chaillac Mine, Chaillac, Le Blanc, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire France (± 1980)

Specimen size: 6.4 × 5.6 × 2.2 cm = 2.52” × 2.20” × 0.87”

Main crystal size: 0.7 × 0.6 cm = 0.28” × 0.24”

Fluorescence short UV & minor fluorescence long UV

Fluorite with Baryte

ED47AM0: Group of Fluorite crystals, one of them clearly dominant and outstanding and between transparent and translucent. With geometric color zoning with a yellow nucleus and colorless edge areas, and partially covered by lenticular Baryte crystals with some micro-crystals of sulfides. A specimen rescued from the past from the Les Redoutières Mine, less well known than other mines in the same mining district.
Les Redoutières Mine, Chaillac, Le Blanc, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire France (±1997)

Specimen size: 9 × 7.1 × 3 cm = 3.54” × 2.80” × 1.18”

Main crystal size: 2.5 × 2.5 cm = 0.98” × 0.98”

Minor fluorescence long & short UV

Fluorite with Baryte

Front

Side

EB49AM0: Group of Fluorite crystals, with two distinct growth phases, a polycrystalline exterior with an intense yellow color and a gray to colorless interior. Its characteristics are different from the usual ones in better known specimens from the Chaillac mining district. With lenticular crystals of Baryte. A specimen rescued from the past from the Les Redoutières Mine, less well known than other mines in the same mining district.
Les Redoutières Mine, Chaillac, Le Blanc, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire France (±1997)

Specimen size: 9.1 × 7.4 × 4.5 cm = 3.58” × 2.91” × 1.77”

Main crystal size: 3.2 × 2.2 cm = 1.26” × 0.87”

Minor fluorescence long & short UV

Fluorite with inclusions

DMA99ASN1: A druse of Fluorite crystals, one of them clearly dominant, in a matrix of the same crystalline and banded Fluorite with very slightly violet tones. Of cubic habit, they have very defined faces and edges, and some polycrystalline growths with the upper (001) faces of a more yellowish color and the remaining ones more grayish.
From a classic French locality from which it is difficult to obtain such high-quality specimens.
Chaillac Mine, Chaillac, Le Blanc, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire France

Specimen size: 15.3 × 14.9 × 5.6 cm = 6.02” × 5.87” × 2.20”

Main crystal size: 5.7 × 3.7 cm = 2.24” × 1.46”

Reference Specimens
France

(para ver esta página en español)

Chessy-les-Mines

Reference SpecimensFrance

(para ver esta página en español)

Chessy-les-Mines

Reference Specimens
France