Wire Gold
Round Mountain Mine, Nye County, Nevada
 
This gold specimen represents one of the rarest crystal habits ever discovered from the Round Mountain Mine. It features an extraordinary arrangement of thick native gold wires gracefully intertwined and wrapped around one another in a formation rarely seen from this locality. The larger wire crystals showcase unique surface features, including trigons (triangular growth patterns naturally formed on the crystal faces) and hopper-like crystal textures occurring together on the same surfaces. Delicate branching wires extend outward, creating an intricate network of overlapping gold formations that give the specimen remarkable depth and complexity. Adding to its visual appeal, each wire crystal exhibits a brilliant mirror like luster, reflecting light across the specimen’s surface. Some of the wire formations transition into delicate fern-like crystal growths along their edges, creating an illusion of chevron or hopper style crystal development. Specimens from the Round Mountain Mine displaying wire gold of this caliber are exceptionally uncommon. Compared to the thousands of gold specimens produced from this famous locality, only a very limited number exhibit this combination of thick wire formation, crystal detail, and exceptional luster. In fact, only one other example has been personally observed that approaches a similar level of aesthetics and complexity.
 
23 x 22 x 7 mm
0.999 gram