Quartz

specimen number:
2062520

location:
Ten-Percenter Mine, Teller Co., Colorado, USA

description:
A loose tapering deep smoky lustrous still gemmy crystal of quartz. Very little feldspar matrix attached on one termination, this is double terminated and in excellent condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray Demark. His label notes that he purchased this from the mine owner at the time Don Smith in 1985.

The Ten-Percenter Mine (often referenced as the 10 Percenter claim) in Teller County, Colorado, is not a traditional industrial metal mine with a standard commercial production opening and closing date, but rather a famous mineral claim within the Lake George pegmatite district that gained widespread renown for producing exceptional gem specimens, most notably the legendary Key Hole Pocket mined in 1985. Geologically, the deposit is situated within the Proterozoic Pikes Peak batholith, a massive billion-year-old intrusive granite body. Within this host rock, localized pegmatite phases developed volatile-rich miarolitic cavities where gases allowed rare mineral crystals to grow unhindered, yielding the prized blue-green microcline feldspar and associated white albite or smoky quartz that characterize the area.

Questions about this specimen?
Send an email or call us: 314-341-1811.