Chinese Azurite!
Chinese azurite is not something I typically take a second look at. Like the pastel green Xianghualing fluorite or the reddish Daye calcite, it has become one of those mineralogical constants that inevitably turns up at every show..... and then, as with all these mineralogical constants, once in a while they discover a batch that is a cut above.
I think the ball-shaped clusters from Shilu have long been considered the best Chinese azurites (and they probably win on shape) but those didn't quite have the luster or depth of color. Then recently, I noticed that examples with larger, more lustrous crystals than the usual were being found in Anhui, so I bought a rather large batch of them-- most were the typical material, flat plates with small crystals (usually the crystals resemble those on specimen CNAZ27.) From that batch, I selected the best 28 pieces to post here-- and the first one in particular is probably one of the best Chinese azurites I have seen, period.
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CNAZ01 Azurite with Malachite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
10.0x 8.5x 5.6 cm
CNAZ02 Azurite with Malachite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
4.0x 3.2x 1.8 cm
$175
CNAZ03 Azurite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
6.6x 4.4x 2.6 cm
$185
CNAZ04 Azurite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
5.4x 4.5x 3.7 cm
$225
CNAZ05 Azurite with Malachite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
6.6x 5.3x 3.7 cm
$185
CNAZ06 Azurite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
7.3x 4.8x 2.0 cm
$160
CNAZ07 Azurite with Malachite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
8.5x 5.3x 5.5 cm
CNAZ08 Azurite with Malachite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
8.1x 4.4x 3.9 cm
$200
CNAZ09 Azurite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
5.6x 4.8x 3.6 cm
$185
CNAZ10 Azurite with Malachite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
6.6x 4.4x 1.1 cm
$165
CNAZ11 Azurite with Malachite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
7.7x 5.7x 3.9 cm
CNAZ12 Azurite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
7.7x 3.9x 4.6 cm
$165
CNAZ13 Azurite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
4.9x 4.4x 3.0 cm
$165
CNAZ14 Azurite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
5.4x 4.5x 3.6 cm
$185
CNAZ15 Azurite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
5.7x 3.1x 3.7 cm
$145
CNAZ16 Azurite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
6.1x 3.5x 2.9 cm
$125
CNAZ17 Azurite with Malachite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
4.0x 3.2x 1.9 cm
$160
CNAZ18 Azurite with Malachite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
7.8x 4.2x 3.2 cm
$145
CNAZ19 Azurite with Malachite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
3.4x 1.6x 1.6 cm
$85
CNAZ20 Azurite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
6.2x 3.6x 3.0 cm
$145
CNAZ21 Azurite with Malachite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
9.0x 3.7x 3.9 cm
$195
CNAZ22 Azurite with Malachite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
6.0x 3.8x 2.4 cm
$135
CNAZ23 Azurite with Malachite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
2.6x 1.8x 1.5 cm
$85
CNAZ24 Azurite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
1.9x 1.6x 1.8 cm
$65
CNAZ25 Azurite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
2.8x 1.8x 1.4 cm
$75
CNAZ26 Azurite with Malachite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
6.3x 5.0x 2.0 cm
$90
CNAZ27 Azurite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
6.0x 4.7x 4.5 cm
$135
CNAZ28 Azurite
Liufengshan Mine, Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui, China
5.6x 4.0x 3.9 cm
$100
CNAZ29 Copper
Daye Co., Huangshi Prefecture, Hubei Province, China
3.3x 2.7x 2.0 cm