Goethite Impression

A wonderful display piece showing a prominent thick stalactite at the centre, covered with glass-like green-brown druzy quartz. The lower border polished to reveal a wonderful sea gr...

Intense yellow - orange limonite formation with inclusions of white quartz. Origin: Benalmadena Trinidad Mine - Malaga - Spain

This stunning formation consists of a large pyramidal calcite on a bed of deep purple amethyst. The split calcite with unusual epitaxial goethite and a second generation of amethys...

A dynamic formation with a thick blue-brown agatised border. The crystal lined interior equally dynamic with shocks of electric amethyst contrasting with darker colours on a bed of large stalactites...

From Wulashan Au deposit, Wulashan mining district, Binhe New District, Baotou City (Baotou Prefecture), Inner Mongolia, China. Beautiful specimen of botryoidal goethite with colo...

A striking large naturally shaped mtorolite specimen originating from Zimbabwe. This rare mineral, also known as chrome chalcedony, showcases an unu...

Malachite natural specimen sculpture A large natural malachite specimen on a cypress wood base. Cypress wood is softwood and not heavy. The beautifully shaped piece of malachite is ...

A magnificent example of a gogotte formation composed of thick swirls and folds of sparkling sandstone. Discovered in the Oligocene sand dunes of Fontainebleau, France, formed circa 30 million years before present or later. The incredible, almost otherworldly appearance of gogottes may easily be mistaken for the work of a most talented artist. In fact, these sandstone sculptures are entirely natural in origin. They have been found in multiple locations but those from Fontainebleau, such as the present example, are the most remarkable. Thirty-five million years ago, a sea covered what is now the forest of Fontainebleau, and dunes of exceptionally fine and homogenous sand formed. As silica-rich water filtered through this sand, it turned into stone. The flow of water finely modelled the sandstone into the aesthetic concretions we now know as gogottes. These are rare and are only found sporadically several metres deep into the ground. They owe their sparkling white appearance to the extreme and unmatched purity of the Fontainebleau sand, sometimes reaching a composition of 99.9% silica. Each of them is unique – a masterpiece slowly fashioned by the hands of Nature. The intriguing name of “gogotte” was coined by French geologist Claude Guillemin (1923- 1994), who was inspired by the children’s book series Babar the Elephant. In one of the books, a group of monsters called Gogottes are shown hiding behind rocks. These rocks reminded Guillemin of the sandstone concretions...