John Warn’s Lifetime Mineral Collection Heads to Heritage With Rare Tourmalines and Towering Selenite
A mineral collection assembled over a lifetime by geologist and longtime collector John Warn is heading to auction at Heritage, with vivid tourmalines, Colorado Amazonite and a towering Mexican Selenite crystal among the highlights. The John Warn Collection Fine Minerals Signature Auction will take place October 17. Warn’s interest in minerals began during family trips to Glacier National Park in the 1940s and 1950s, when his father introduced him to geological collecting. What began as a childhood interest eventually developed into decades of study, collecting and discovery, resulting in a collection Heritage says includes notable specimens from around the world.
Tourmaline is a major focus of the collection, including a striking Elbaite on Lepidolite specimen from California’s Stewart Mine known as “The Hand.” Mine owner Blue Sheppard recovered the specimen in 1991 and gave it its nickname because of the six transparent Elbaite crystals extending from its deep lavender Lepidolite matrix. Measuring 3.66 inches long, the crystals display the Stewart Mine’s bubble-gum pink coloration, with several capped by lighter blue zoning near their terminations.
Another Stewart Mine Elbaite dates to an accidental discovery in 1970, when blasting broke into an old, forgotten cavity filled with gem Tourmaline, Morganite, Spodumene and Quartz crystals. The 3.26-inch specimen is centered by a dark hot-pink Elbaite crystal set against pale lavender to deep purple Lepidolite and thin blades of colorless Cleavelandite, with smaller pink Elbaite crystals scattered across the cluster.
The auction also includes a much larger Elbaite from the Himalaya Mine in San Diego County’s Mesa Grande Mining District. Mined by Bill Larson in the early 1980s, the 5.83-inch specimen is dominated by a doubly terminated crystal with pronounced bands of deep green and light to watermelon pink. Smaller Lepidolite crystals appear along its glassy surface. A separate Brazilian Elbaite from the Azul Bien Grande Pocket at the Pederneira mine stands 6.77 inches tall and features a gemmy blue color with thin green zoning at its terminations.
One of the collection’s important Colorado specimens comes from the Lucky Monday Pocket at the Smoky Hawk Claim in Teller County. The pocket was discovered by Joe Dorris in 2011 and produced 15 museum-quality Amazonite and Smoky Quartz plates, approximately 50 Amazonite clusters, more than 75 Smoky Quartz crystals and around 75 single Amazonite crystals. Heritage is offering an Amazonite and Smoky Quartz combination from that discovery as part of the Warn auction.
Perhaps the most dramatic specimen by sheer size is a Gypsum variety Selenite crystal from the Naica Mine in Chihuahua, Mexico. Measuring 25.51 inches long and weighing 3,525.4 grams, the crystal is transparent and colorless with pronounced striations. It came from the mine’s famed “Cave of Swords,” known for its enormous Gypsum formations. The piece was also personally significant to Warn because it represented one of his earliest major mineral purchases. He acquired it from Bill Stone at the 1996 Denver Gem and Mineral Show.
“John Warn built a very impressive collection, and Heritage Auctions could not be more proud to bring it to market, to share some of John’s treasures with serious collectors of fine minerals,” says Nic Valenzuela, Heritage’s Director of Fine Minerals. “It is a magnificent collection, with a strong focus on Tourmalines, but it goes beyond that. The auction is full of exceptional pieces he collected from around the world, many of which will become immediate centerpieces in their new collections.”
The John Warn Collection Fine Minerals Signature Auction takes place October 17 at Heritage Auctions, offering collectors the opportunity to acquire specimens from a collection that began with family trips to Glacier National Park and ultimately grew into a lifetime pursuit of exceptional minerals.