DALLAS, TX.- An extraordinary collection of fine and rare minerals, assembled over a lifetime by a celebrated mineral enthusiast, credentialed geologist and well-known discoverer, will find its way into new collections when Heritage presents The John Warn Collection Fine Minerals Signature Auction Oct. 17.
As a young boy in the 1940s and 1950s, Warn and his family would take annual summer trips to Glacier National Park, ventures on which his father introduced him to geological collecting. Those treks to the stunning park in Montana, about 45 miles south of the Canadian border, spawned a curiosity that morphed into a lifetime of study and eager pursuit.
“John Warn built a very impressive collection, and Heritage Auctions could not be more proud to bring it to market, to share some of John’s treasures with serious collectors of fine minerals,” says Nic Valenzuela, Heritage’s Director of Fine Minerals. “It is a magnificent collection, with a strong focus on Tourmalines, but it goes beyond that. The auction is full of exceptional pieces he collected from around the world, many of which will become immediate centerpieces in their new collections.”
Among the top treasures in the collection is an Elbaite (Tourmaline) on Lepidolite — known as “The Hand” that was pulled from the Stewart Mine in Tourmaline Queen Mountain in San Diego County, Calif., in 1991 by mine owner Blue Sheppard. This magnificent specimen, which measures 3.66 inches (9.3 centimeters) in length, gets its nickname from Sheppard because of its six flashy, highly transparent Elbaite crystals protruding from a lustrous, deep lavender Lepidolite matrix, which Blue later dubbed as “The Hand.” Each of the well-formed, prismatic crystals has the locality’s signature bubble-gum pink color, with many being “capped” by lighter blue zoning along flatter, pedion terminations.
The Stewart Mine also produced another gorgeous Elbaite (Tourmaline) that measures 3.26 inches (8.3 centimeters) in length. The breathtaking crystal that is the centerpiece of the specimen features a dark hot pink color, the intensity of which declines near the flatter termination. Presenting on the base of the Elbaite is a cluster of pale lavender to deep purple Lepidolite, along with thin, colorless blades of Cleavelandite. Garnishing the cluster are numerous small floral pink Elbaite, some of which come to complete terminations. It only exists because operators of the Stewart Mine blasted through rock and accidentally broke into an old, forgotten cavity in 1970. The opening left behind by the blast was peppered with pockets containing gem Tourmaline, Morganite, Spodumene and Quartz crystals.
Also offered is an Elbaite (Tourmaline) from the Himalaya Mine in Gem Hill, part of San Diego County’s Mesa Grande Mining District. Mined in the early 1980s by Bill Larson, it is largely dominated by an immense, doubly terminated crystal topped by a 2.7-centimeter, terminated sidecar that partially cuts across one of the terminations. All throughout, the Elbaite, which measures 5.83 inches (14.8 centimeters) tall, is translucent to completely gemmy, showing pronounced alternating zones of deep green and light to watermelon pink. A handful of smaller Lepidolite crystals stud the Tourmaline’s glassy, striated surface and are primarily consolidated to the top side of the piece.
Another must-have for the serious collector is an Amazonite and Smoky Quartz from the Lucky Monday Pocket in the Smoky Hawk Claim in Teller County, Colorado. The 2011 discovery of the pocket, from one of the more significant finds in the locality’s history, by Joe Dorris, marked a major turning point for the operations at the Smoky Hawk claim, putting an end to what had been a near-prospect-ending mining season. A massive cavity brimming with clusters of superb Amazonite and Smoky Quartz combinations, the fertile, horseshoe-shaped cavity produced 15 museum-quality Amazonite-Smoky Quartz plates ranging from 7 to 10 centimeters in size, approximately 50 Amazonite clusters, more than 75 Smoky Quartz crystals and around 75 single-crystal specimens of Amazonite.
One of the most visually dramatic lots in the auction is a Gypsum var. Selenite from the Naica Mine in Chihuahua, Mexico that measures 25.51 inches (64.8 centimeters) in length. The “Cave of Swords” enjoys a measure of renown for the gargantuan Gypsum crystals that lie within, including the specimen offered, which weighs a hefty 3,525.4 grams. The entire crystal is remarkably transparent and colorless with plenty of striated features lining all but the flatter prismatic faces, and two slight “bends” are present at the termination and near the base of the specimen. This piece holds a special place in Warn’s collection, as it was one of his earliest, larger expenditures on a specimen. He acquired the piece at the 1996 Denver Gem and Mineral Show from Bill Stone, the founder and previous owner of The Sunnywood Collection.
Another spectacular vertical visual is an Elbaite (Tourmaline) from the Azul Bien Grande Pocket in the Pederneira mine in So Jos da Safira, Brazil. Measuring 6.77 inches (17.2 centimeters), it is a stellar example from the Azul Bien Grande Pocket, showing an elongated, doubly terminated Elbaite floater lined with multiple parallel growths, all weighing 35.2 grams. Each of the flatter terminations is filled with thin green zoning that complements the Tourmaline's gemmy blue color and indirectly add depth to the specimen's overall presentation. The so-called “cherry-on-top” is the Tourmaline's highly vitreous luster, which adds a layer of brilliance that makes the piece even more beguiling.
