Chinese Azurite!
Chinese azurite is not something I typically take a second look at. Like the pastel green Xianghualing fluorite or the reddish Daye calcite, it has become one of those mineralogical constants that inevitably turns up at every show..... and then, as with all these mineralogical constants, once in a while they discover a batch that is a cut above.
I think the ball-shaped clusters from Shilu have long been considered the best Chinese azurites (and they probably win on shape) but those didn't quite have the luster or depth of color. Then recently, I noticed that examples with larger, more lustrous crystals than the usual were being found in Anhui, so I bought a rather large batch of them-- most were the typical material, flat plates with small crystals (usually the crystals resemble those on specimen CNAZ27.) From that batch, I selected the best 28 pieces to post here-- and the first one in particular is probably one of the best Chinese azurites I have seen, period.