We have two lovely spheres and one large polished piece of eudialyte from the Kola Peninsula. Sizes and prices: Sphere on left, 2" diameter, $100; Center polished piece, 5" high, and almost 4" wide, $180; Sphere on right, 2 1/4" diameter, $120.

Speaking of zircon, (ZrSiO4, zirconium silicate) we recently received some single brown crystals with nice luster from Brazil. These are up to about 5/8" across, single crystals with no matrix for $6 or 2 for $10.

Of the astrophyllite group members mentioned in the write-up, we were only able to find kupletskite, the mineral that forms a series with astrophyllite. We received some pieces with small, shiny brown blades in a granite matrix from Malawi, Africa, up to 2" by 2" for $14

In May, we came across a great deal for the very attractive grossular garnets from Mexico, commonly known as Raspberry Garnet for their pretty color. Interestingly, many of the garnets have a visibly black-colored core, showing that their composition changed during growth! We would have loved to feature these in the Club, but they were out of our price range. (They’re usually rare and expensive $$$!) We have some pieces in a crumbly white matrix up to 3" by 2" for $30, each with a number of well-formed raspberry garnets, up to 3/8", and a couple of pieces with larger garnets up to about ½" for $48. Check our web site for photos!

STILL AVAILABLE WHILE THEY LAST! ENHYDRO QUARTZ from CHINA These were received as one-time lot. They are natural, unpolished quartz crystals about 2" in length and 1" to 1¼" in width. Each one contains a portion of the original solution that the quartz crystallized from caught in a channel in the crystal! The quartz crystal grew so relatively rapidly that the fluid was trapped inside by the forming crystal! As you slowly move the crystal, you can see an air bubble trapped in the fluid move back and forth inside the crystal. Sometimes, a bit of black material (perhaps a form of coal) is caught in the fluid! The Chinese have circled in ink the area where the movement is visible. These are pretty cool, $20 for Club members! We’ve seen these in a store selling for $70 and more.

We still have a few of the exceptional swallowtail twins of gypsum that are occasionally found in the clay at the Red River Floodway, where the twinned crystal is really protruding from the rosette. The term "swallowtail" perfectly describes the form of these twins! Each specimen is about 2" to 2½" high, with the twin crystal being about 1". We have these very special twin available for Club members for $30.

We have left a few small pieces of gaspeite, small rich green crystals in an earthy limonite matrix from Australia, about 1" by 1" for $3. We have available some iridescent mammilary siderite from Arizona, about 2" by 2" in size, for $6

GEMSTONE BOXES Another new item to us are lovely little gemstone boxes made in China. These are very affordable considering the amount of effort that goes into making them! We have these rectangular boxes in two sizes:

About 1¾" across by 1½" deep by 1" high for $20 in labradorite, rose quartz, hematite, aventurine or lapis lazuli (lower grade lapis, but still very nice lapis)

About 2½" across by 2" deep by 1c’ high for $30 in labradorite, hematite, or man-made goldstone

And we got some neat little pieces of "optical calcite" from Mexico. These have been cleaved into rhombohedrons from a large mass of calcite, so you can see the true crystal form common to calcite, rhodochrosite, smithsonite, and other carbonate minerals, plus they are very clear, so you can hold them against something written and observe calcite’s wonderful property of birefringence! Small pieces about 1" by 1½" are $2 each or 3 for $5, while larger pieces, up to about 3" by 4", with a pretty color tint, are $14