- See it large! Here
Velvet Beauty
This is the actual name of this magnificent specimen. It is an important piece, one gotten from a private collection and displayed by a vendor at the Tucson Rock and Gem Show. It was found in 1890 at Bisbee, Arizona, long a world-known site for azurite and malachite as well as copper.
The photo was taken through glass, and the vendor held up a flashlight for me to take this picture. Velvet Beauty can be yours for a mere $25,000. It is the finest specimen I have ever seen of one of my favorite minerals. I believe the chunk weighs about 3 pounds and is about 9" in diameter. As often, I recommend seeing the large or original size view.
Comments and faves
Ginger_Blue, Artista, The Grand Duchess, lucycat, and 342 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Ginger_Blue (76 months ago | reply)
Oh, no doubt this would be my favorite. I was hoping you'd post one like this. This is just heavenly!!! Sigh....
Any Manetta (76 months ago | reply)
Amazing blue.....beautiful!
from twtme
cobalt123 (76 months ago | reply)
Thanks Any and Ginger - I'll never forget seeing this one! I don't know that many flickr people are interested in all the rocks, crystals and fossils I have put up and will be adding to my stream, but those who care about these things I hope will enjoy the vicarious thrills of the glimpses, ha ha!
Artista (76 months ago | reply)
A truly amazing color and specimen !!! An instant fav.
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Luka Skracic (76 months ago | reply)
Great image, love the amazing colour!
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Seen in The World Through My Eyes - Post 2 / Comment Any 1 (?)
The Real Ferg (76 months ago | reply)
this is very interesting, one of the coolest rocks you have posted to date, the color is great.!!!
cobalt123 (76 months ago | reply)
FYI, this color is not enhanced, it is exactly as you see. That's why this mineral is so treasured. Thanks for your visits, friends!
OldhaMedia (76 months ago | reply)
I'd pay 25k for it if I had it!
James Jordan (76 months ago | reply)
Amazing colors! A real eye-catcher.
Seen in 3-2-1
Kirpernicus (76 months ago | reply)
Very cool photo, especially considering you shot it through the glass!
The World Through My Eyes
THIS IS EYE CANDY! Please post this amazing photo to the Eye Candy! Group.
AZTransplant/Nicki (76 months ago | reply)
WOW!! How beautiful!!!! Thanks for posting this. It's amazing what is around us.
cobalt123 (76 months ago | reply)
Thanks for the invittaion Kmarnicus, I'll get that photo into your group later today. Had not seen that group pool and it does, indeed, have beautiful images.
rgdaniel (76 months ago | reply)
That's very cool, never seen anything quite like it, what a colour !
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rog45 (76 months ago | reply)
You could stare at that for hours and never get bored. Great shot.
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Clearly Ambiguous (76 months ago | reply)
Beautiful !
smiling_da_vinci (76 months ago | reply)
Good...grief..... *whipes off keyboard*
I WANT IT! I WANT IT!!! I WANT IT!!!!! NOW!
erthsister (76 months ago | reply)
Wow. That is truely spectacular inside and out! I can see why the vendor keeps glass over it--so people won't drool into it! Thanks for sharing it! And how wonderful that the vendor helped you with lighting. :)
work2snap (76 months ago | reply)
Wow, this is really amazing!!
Nicely captured!
annabellafranc [deleted] (76 months ago | reply)
oooooohhhhh !!!!!
ShirleyGrant (76 months ago | reply)
What a beautiful specimen. and a great shot of it.
daisyjellybean (76 months ago | reply)
oh wow! that color is pretty much perfect! wow!
Daniel Greene (76 months ago | reply)
I'm not a big rock person, but I do love the color and texture here!
The Challenge (76 months ago | reply)
fantastic
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jpockele (76 months ago | reply)
It is a real beauty, but i don't have that much money :)
www.flickr.com/groups/1-2-3 (?)
*A_BertolaniPalici (76 months ago | reply)
Fantastic color and a very interesting object!
Very good photo!
Glauka. [deleted] (76 months ago | reply)
Tones and light are amazing. In large size I can apreciate the great textures on this picture. Congrats!
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~Sage~ (76 months ago | reply)
Fabulous piece! Well captured!
The Photique [deleted] (76 months ago | reply)
Beautiful exquisite gourmet rock.
cobalt123 (76 months ago | reply)
My goodness! Thank you all for your visits and comments. Nice to have a long day in traveling on business and come back to the hotel and see this come up with so many views and interaction. Here's how nice my day was: drive 200 miles to my site to give a training and enjoy it so much more because I was not the driver. Then the training we expected only 3 to 5 people to attend and 12 folks are there. It went great. Then out to eat and with friends to casinos across the border. Win big ($24 on a penny slot is my definition of "big", ha ha) and have fun shooting night photos and neon lights all around there. Get back to the hotel, login to flickr and voila, friends aplenty. Life is good!
Ottie (76 months ago | reply)
Absolutely magnificent! Wish I had something like that!
The_Jorr (76 months ago | reply)
Wow!! that's just way too great!! love those colors!
patchworkgandalf (76 months ago | reply)
its wonderful
guano (76 months ago | reply)
As often, I went not to your large size image, but to the original size, scrolling around and cogitating on the progress of imaging technology to bring me this kind of detail. Dontcha think, as time goes by, that cameras will go through paradigm shifts in quality, and "original" size images will be crystal clear at huge sizes?
I thought I was ahead of the curve with my CCTV, zooming in on things the size of half a dime. Great views of live bugs! The usual Flickr image is a fairly small canvas. Most would be very grainy if made into a big poster. I can see the day when "average" cameras produce images so clear that a tiny crop could be blown up gigantic, and still be breathtakingly clear.
Instead of the TV news image of the earth from space zooming down to a bug on a mailbox, it will zoom from the original big bang and all of time, down to a hair follicle on the bug's eye, and to the micro-organisms that live on that hair follicle, and down to the nanotech molecular workings, and spilt time itself with a > forward and < backward control. What we see has always been very cool, but the powers to see from way off and down close are getting so much better. Just wanted to let you know that this image kind of took me on that trip. Great shot!
madswisscow (76 months ago | reply)
Hi cobalt ... returning the favour :-)
Congrats on explore on this incredible beauty !
I don't know much about rocks etc. but remember my beloved grandmother's fascinating collection.
Enjoy your trip, be safe !
©DocTony Photography (76 months ago | reply)
wow!
A+++ Grade Photo! please join us
haxhinexha (76 months ago | reply)
Great shot of this strange thing.
I would like to invite you to add this great photo
to the QEMD "Finch" Group (No Rules - Just Educational)
by_irma (76 months ago | reply)
Very beautiful!
JDHuang (76 months ago | reply)
Very cool color !
Shelley K. Petrik (76 months ago | reply)
Wow! Beautiful!
urbanmom [deleted] (76 months ago | reply)
congrats on explore on this one! very beautiful1
Auntie P (76 months ago | reply)
Outstanding. What a beauty, no wonder it has such a huge price tag.
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cobalt123 (76 months ago | reply)
Amazing, here I thought there were not necessarily many people in flickr that would be looking at these specimen photos. Usually it is more like 8 to 25 folks visiting. Thank you all very very much for your comments and interest!
razik (76 months ago | reply)
I invite you to add this great picture to VIVID group.
Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton (76 months ago | reply)
Hmmm, you are right. . the times I've posted mineral or gem specimens they hardly make a ripple.
This one is spectacular, though !!
beebo wallace (76 months ago | reply)
Man ... that is so freaking cool!
cobalt123 (76 months ago | reply)
Yikes! (that's all I can say...)
chicka boom (76 months ago | reply)
Congratulations! This image is currently (or was recently) one of
Flickr's Top 10 most interesting photos for 8 Feb 2007. (It is/was on
page one of the calendar view.) Would you please add it to the Top 10
Interestingness pool? It would be a great addition!
cobalt123 (76 months ago | reply)
Thank you so much for visiting, chicka boom. I was watching the calendar view of Interestingness when it seemed this photo was popular. It was a great surprise, for such a subject is not often "up there' in views. I saw it #23 during the night, then #11 and then forward it was bouncing around page 3 to page 4. One never knows how the "latest" algorythm kicks in and out. I've added this to the Interestingness pool just now, and it makes me feel great to know that I can share just a bit of one of my favorite personal joys, beautiful nature perfection moments. It's just a rock, after all...
cosmokozak (76 months ago | reply)
congratulations for sparking so much enthusiasm for this beautiful specimen! great image capture!
dr_loplop (76 months ago | reply)
Now that's what I call cobalt. Thank you for saving me $25,000 with your picture.