• Option A, a four-sided tower made of white, opaque chalcedony, matte on the surface. The material is near-white with brown-gray patterning, with a lot of holes of varying sizes.
  • Option A, detail of the base of the tower, with a large hole lined with snow-white druzy.
  • Option A, angled view of two sides of the piece, largely covered with the brown-gray patterning with several large druzy-lined holes
  • Option A, angled view of two sides, with a band of white through the mottled gray material pierced with small holes. There is a good-sized cavity in the base.
  • Option A, angled view of two sides of the piece, with a good cavity in the base and an angular cavity near the top, lined with white chalcedony.
  • Option A, the tower on a flat surface with a right angle showing it leans a bit
  • Option A, detail showing the tip is dulled
  • Option A, showing scale of almost three and a half inches on a measuring mat
  • Option B, a short wide four-sided tower carved of opaque, matte white chalcedony, with dark brown-gray veining, and cavities lined with druzy.
  • Option B, angled view of two sides, the corner largely hollow with cavities filled with chunky druzy. The tip of the tower is partially hollow
  • Option B, a side of the piece with chunky dark brown patterning and a triangular cavity out of the base, with round formations inside.
  • Option B, a side of the piece without many cavities, largely opaque white material with streaks of dark pattern. The tip of the tower is off-center.
  • Option B, the tower on a flat surface with a right angle showing it has a decent tilt
  • Option B, detail showing the tip is intact, but asymmetric.
  • Option B, showing scale of a bit over three inches on a measuring mat
  • Option C, detail of the top portion of a four-sided tower, made of matte, semi-translucent chalcedony with dark brown veining. The piece has excellent chunky druzy, with individual crystals visible in cross-section.
  • Option C, angled view of two sides of the piece with blocky, angular dark veining patterns, and a pocket of druzy wrapped around the corner.
  • Option C, a side of the piece with only small cavities, criss-crossed with dark veining.
  • Option C, detail of a cavity at the base of the specimen, lined with druzy.
  • Option C, detail of the top of the point, showing the crystalline pattern of the quartz druzy in cross-section.
  • Option C, the tower on a flat surface with a right angle showing it appears straight.
  • Option C, detail showing the tip is dulled
  • Option C, showing scale of over two and a half inches on a measuring mat
  • Option D, a four-sided tower of matte, opaque white chalcedony with gray patterning. There is a large cavity near the top, with lumpy forms through it and lined with quartz druzy.
  • Option D, an angled view of the piece showing two sides, with large druzy-lined cavities crossing the corner. There is some dark gray mottling on these sides.
  • Option D, detail of the large cavity near the top of the tower, with good depth to the cavity and interesting formations. There is a healed fracture running through the piece.
  • Option D, a side of the piece with small wonky cavities lined with fine sugar druzy. The gray is light on the side.
  • Option D, the tower on a flat surface with a right angle showing it leans
  • Option D, detail showing the tip is dulled
  • Option D, showing scale of over three and a quarter inches on a measuring mat
  • Option E, an opaque matte four-sided tower, white chalcedony with dark patches. There are cavities with veins through them, lined with druzy.
  • Option E, detail view of the cavities on the piece. There are some rough polish lines visible.
  • Option E, angled view of two sides, with some light boxwork with small cavities, the side mostly mottled white and brown-black.
  • Option E, side-view of the piece, opaque matte blocks of off-white and brown-black material.
  • Option E, the tower on a flat surface with a right angle showing it is close to straight
  • Option E, detail showing the tip is dulled
  • Option E, showing scale of a bit over two and a half inches on a measuring mat
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Chalcedony druzy tower

Chalcedony druzy tower

$14.00 USD
$14.00 USD
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Approx height: 

A  3.25"
B  3"
C  2.5"
D  3.25"
E  2.5"

 

Alternately called points or obelisks, these towers are cut and polished from chalcedony. I prefer to pick towers with open cavities that reveal the mineral structure, and this material has fascinating open boxwork (honeycomb-like) structures, the pockets lined with quartz druzy. Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of quartz; like a geode the chalcedony formed first, with larger quartz crystals forming as the crystallization process slowed.

This material commonly goes by the name "sphalerite quartz," but isn't believed to actually involve sphalerite. It varies in appearance, with off-white tones contrasting with gray, dark brown, and near-black pattern. Some have fine veining, while others have bold, chunky colors.

Surface imperfections: this material appears to be on the soft side for chalcedony, not the right quality to achieve a shiny polish. The surface is matte, and I have observed scrape-like polish lines are apparent on many towers. Many have lightly chipped or dulled points.

Note: Towers like this are often cut haphazardly and may not stand straight. In images showing a right angle over the tower, the piece has been rotated to show the most off-square angle.

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