Copper pseudomorph after Azurite ("Copper Rose")

A wonderful complete "floater" "Copper Rose" specimen from New Mexico featuring fine, sharp, bladed crystals of what were once Azurite and later replaced by Native Copper. My favorite aspect of the piece is that the crystals are notably sharp and well-preserved, which is not common in this material as they are often a bit rounded. This one is distinct, and has great separation between each crystal, giving the piece a wonderful three-dimensional quality. A beautiful thumbnail specimen of these classics from the Copper Rose Mine.

These specimens are some of my favorite minerals in the world. They are unique in the fact that they are not only pseudomorphs, but what makes them so rare and special is the fact that you have a native metal replacing a mineral that contains that metal. Essentially these specimens started out as a deposit of Native Copper that was oxidized and combined with carbonate molecules to form crystallized "rosettes" of Azurite. Then a second deposit of Native Copper arrived, which completely coated and replaced the preexisting Azurite. It is, to the best of my knowledge, the only instance in the mineral world where a specimen starts out as a native metal, alters to a secondary mineral in an oxidized zone of said metal, and is eventually replaced by the same native metal, essentially taking it back to its original state. This is why the "Copper Roses" from New Mexico are so extraordinary.

Specimen # CUNM72006