Smoky Quartz on Perthitic Microcline, Pikes Creek Batholith, Teller Co., Colorado, USA
A lustrous, well-terminated compound crystal measuring 45 mm, set in perthitic Microcline from the famous Pikes Peak batholith. This is a very mature mining district, and most of the shallow, accessible deposits are exhausted. Remaining localities are jealously guarded secrets, legally claimed, and strictly off limits to collectors. New material is hard to come by and exorbitantly priced due to the cost of extraction, which requires large mechanized excavation.
