Large Polished Congo Chrysocolla and Malachite 'Malacolla' Display Freeform - 186mm, 1390g

Locality - Kalukuluku, Congo
Size – 186 x 124 x 75mm
Weight – 1390g

This large polished freeform is an exceptionally sized display piece boasting vivid powder blue chrysocolla and leafy green malachite tones in intricate swirled, mottled and lacy patterns. There are some unique natural botryoidal vugs left intact below the polish line, adding some interesting multi-textural qualities to the stone. This specimen has been expertly polished to a high shine and artistically shaped to an organic freeform with a flat base, sitting elegantly as an exquisite natural decor piece wherever placed. Large specimens of malachite and chrysocolla are hard to come by, and this beauty is a particularly impressive example.

Chrysocolla is a hydrous copper silicate – a member of a small group of copper-bearing gems that includes malachite, azurite, larimar, sunstone, tourmaline and turquoise - typically found as glassy botryoidal or rounded masses or bubbly crusts, jackstraw mats of tiny acicular crystals or tufts of fibrous crystals. The name was first used by Theophrastus in 315 B.C. and comes from the Greek chrysos, meaning "gold," and kolla, meaning "glue," referring to its use as a flux in soldering gold. Pure chrysocolla is opaque and is found in various shades of blue and green. It is often found with traces of copper, iron and manganese oxide, or mixed with other secondary copper minerals such as malachite, azurite, turquoise, opal or quartz. On its own, chrysocolla is very soft and fragile (with a hardness of only 2), but when mixed with these other minerals becomes harder (at 6.5 – 7), more durable and also shows unique patterns in a wide range of colours. Deposits are found in Chile, Israel, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Nevada and D.R. Congo.