Planetary Collection Part 2

An exquisite golden twin crystal of calcite with a pink center
(viewed from one side) perched on a bed of white barite crystals
Found thirty-five years ago in a small pocket in an industrial
zinc mine 1,800 feet below the surface in Elmwood, Tennessee.
This crystal cluster dates back 240 million years.

Dimensions: 19 ”w x 15” h x 15.5” d
Estimated Wt: 195 lbs. to 240 lbs.

Pyramidal pyrite crystal cluster from the famed Huanzala mine
in the Peruvian Andes. Discovered at an elevation
of approximately 14,000 feet

Dimensions: 18.5"w x 15"h x 10.5"d
Estimated Wt: 65 to 70 lbs.

A giant luminous green fluorite crystal cluster interspersed
with alabaster white interlocking rods of quartz
stalactites. Structurally and aesthetically spectacular.
From China, Jiangxi province.
(Close up below)

Dimensions: 60"w x 41.5"h x 16"d
Estimated Wt: 1,950 lbs. to 2,250 lbs.

"How to convert the language of another realm?
Perhaps words such as beauty, grandeur, illumination,
transforming.... So many moments took my breath away.
I woke up thinking: Was it all real?"

J. Chen: a visitor's personal experience of the collection)

An exquisite fossil plate of ammonites on black slate from
Lyme Regis, England. The preparation was a personal effort by
a gentleman who did fossil preparation for 40 years for
German museums. It's near 100% original fossil and nothing
was done to add to it in any way.

The harmonious composition of the plate looks like a
series of galaxies spinning out across a dark universe.
When he acquired the fossil, only one of the ammonites
was visible. He was astounded by its composition as it
revealed itself through over 200 hours of work.

Dimensions: 41.5" x 19.5"x 1"
Estimated Wt: 75 lbs. to 85 lbs.

Large cubic calcite crystals filled with many rainbows,
on a bed of white stalactitic zeolites in a pocket
of volcanic basalt from India.

Video of cubic calcite crystals with stalactitic zeolites

A near transparent, giant smoky quartz crystal filled with
rainbows and other exotic inclusions from the
Ural Mountains in Russia.

Dimensions: 50"w x 29"h x 23"d
Estimated Wt: 1,100 lbs.

***

“Not far from the Space Needle is a warehouse that looks like
Mother Nature's private museum. For Berger, it is the
foundation of a dream that he wants to share with the world...
A way of inspiring people...and what the world needs right
now more than just about anything else is inspiration!”

CBS Sunday Morning program

***

A fantastic crystal cluster comprised of four entirely different
crystal formations including purple fluorite crystals, burgundy
red sphalerite crystals, white barite crystals, and
golden calcites. Discovered in Elmwood Tennessee in the
early 1980s 1,800 feet below the surface of the earth.

Dimensions: 13"h x 12.5"w x 10"d
Estimated Wt: 60 lbs. to 75 lbs.

A beautifully preserved fossil palm flower. Virtually 100%
original fossil with no restoration except along the fracture lines
of the limestone matrix. Exquisite composition and
preparation allows you to see up to three separate layers
of the fossil as they weave above and below each other.
52 million years old. From The Green River Formation,
Kemmerer, Wyoming.

Dimensions: 81"h x 36"w x 3"d
Estimated Wt: 175 lbs.

A two ton giant amethyst geode with large, brilliant purple
amethyst crystals. Discovered in the 1980s in
Rio Grande de Sol, Brazil. Formed 180 million years
ago in volcanic basalt.

Dimensions: 73"w x 48"h x 41"d
Estimated Wt: 3,800 lbs. to 4,100 lbs.

***

"Fascinating! C'est une collection superbe!"

Michel Bienfalt
Professor of Physics and Director of the Laboratory
on the Mechanisms of Crystal Growth

***

An outstanding giant cluster of quartz crystals from the
Coleman mine, discovered back in the late 1970s in Arkansas.
This specimen has been part of The Richard Berger Collection
for nearly five decades.

Dimensions: 52.5”w x 38.5”d x 16.5”h
Estimated Wt: 900 lbs.

One of the largest diameter fossilized wood rounds
ever cut and polished. This giant fossilized Sequoia tree still
contains imprints both of its heartwood and many of its
original growth rings. 38 million years old.
Discovered in Oregon.

Dimensions: 91"w X 81"h x 4.5"d (w/o base)
Estimated Wt: 1,200 lbs (+ steel base)

A gigantic galena crystal cluster, with the largest of the crystals
two feet across. The architectural structuring of the crystals
challenges the imagination with a series of
complex modular structures.
From St. Joseph, Missouri.

Dimensions: 38"w x 28"h x 19"d
Largest single crystal next to the hand is 24 inches across
Estimated Wt: 3,200 lbs. to 3,800 lbs.

Video of Galena crystal cluster

(Partial view of the back of the galena crystal cluster)

***

"To say that we were amazed, entranced, and full of wonder
at the specimens you have collected would not begin to express
our awe at the sensational pieces you have so beautifully displayed."

V. Standish Mallory
Professor of Geological Sciences and Curator Emeritus
The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture

***

A very large "natural sculpture" Fontainebleau concretion
in daylight. Exquisite flow patterns, open bridges, and
swirls 360 degrees around. From France.

Dimensions: 32"w x 28"h x 24"d
Estimated Wt: 350 lbs.

"You've created a garden of immortality"

Fred Alan Wolf, quantum physicist, author of
Taking The Quantum Leap and
recipient of the American Book Award.

A three and a half ton single quartz crystal from Namibia,
Southwest Africa. It is one of the most ancient giant crystals
in the world, having been formed 520 million years ago.
This monumental formation is lighted by 23 watt LEDs and
due to the internal clarity of the crystals, the light shines straight
through more than four feet of solid stone.

In its half billion year journey here on earth, this ancient crystal
has circumnavigated the entire Milky Way - TWICE - carried
along with the solar system by our sun on its 230 to 240 million
year orbit around the galaxy.

Dimensions: 51”w x 61”h x 49”d
Estimated Wt: 7,000 lbs.

This ancient cluster of drusy (micro-crystallized) quartz crystals
with modern day barnacles has never been seen before.
It is paradoxical as to how this even occurred since the tiny
size of the quartz crystals would put them at high risk of being
rapidly eroded by exposure to crashing waves and the
abrasion of sand particles, considering that the crystals must
have been directly exposed to the ocean since it was
colonized by modern day barnacles.

Dimensions: 16"h x 9.5"w x 2"d
Estimated Wt: 15 lbs.

The definitive Fontainebleau "natural sculpture" concretion
in the entire world, The "back" of the cluster is as
spectacular as the "front" so it presents beautifully
360 degrees around and is incomprehensibly gorgeous!
Two million years old.
From Fontainebleau, France.

Dimensions: 75"w x 58"h x 10"d
Estimated Wt: 2,100 lbs. to 2,400 lbs

***

"Your gallery is a noumenon --

the imponderable essence of the earth."

Jay Hair, past President, National Wildlife Federation,
Washington, D.C.

***

An 800+lb fossil nodule that after being split open revealed
three large ammonites with perfect suture patterns
as well as a variety of fossilized mollusks including clams
and a second rare form of ammonite. Found near the
border between San Diego County and Mexico in the 1970s.
Recognized as the finest fossil of its kind in the world.

Dimensions: 48" h x 41.5" w x 16" d
Estimated Wt: 800 lbs. to 850 lbs.

To view more photos and read about the history of the collection
Click here

rb.masterpiecesoftheearth@gmail.com

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