I just added another Tate Boulevard (Hickory, NC) specimen to my collection. The specimen is an  Amethyst that is typical of that found at this locality.  The crystals are on a gray to smoky quartz base and have rutile, hematite, and minor mud inclusions.  Several of the crystals grow downward in a scepter-like position, and are somewhat etched.

The photos below show the full specimen from several angles, and closeups that show the rutile and hematite inclusions, as well as the downward growing crystals.  I wish I had a better camera for macro shots, but you get the gist of what this specimen is like.  Enjoy.

Dennis

An old historic quartz specimen from Catawba Co. that I got last October.

It's a mud included smoky quartz from the Oswald O. Hefner farm, east of Hickory, Catawba Co.  This specimen was originally in the Burnham S. Colburn (1872-1959) mineral collection in Asheville, and upon his death the collection was given to the Univ. of South Carolina geology department (Taber S. 1950. Quartz Crystals with Clay and Fluid Inclusions. Jour. Geology. 58(1): 37-48.). This locality was specifically mentioned (pg. 43) in the S. Taber paper.

It measures: 3.1 x 2.6 x 1.9 in.

   

Jeremy Tarleton wrote on Sep 26^th, 2022 at 6:48pm:


Nice find jatarleton95!  There are a few names for the crystallized area between the two terminations on your specimen.  Elestial, Jacaré or alligator quartz. Even though it may appear to be several smaller crystals growing it is simply a continuation of growth from the underlying crystal lattice. There are many possible reasons for why quartz produces elestial growth. Previous contact with host rock or other crystals, etching from acidic fluids, or physical damage and regrowth -- all of which could be a catalyst for elestial growth. It's a very neat feature of quartz growth and something many people really love.