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raspberry phantoms in yellow cubes from the Okorusu Mine , Namibia
In 2003, we saw a few of these remarkably pretty phantom fluorite plates trickle out through an African source/wholesaler. I bought all there was at the time (not many) and asked to have more if they ever turned up again. Sure enough, he found he had 2 flats tucked away in his warehouse in Namibia, and after long waiting here they are. The material is from a producing locality at which literally thousands of pieces of fluorite are mined each year - and yet in the 7 years since this pocket, we have seen no more like this in style. Not a one. So we bought this whole remaining lot to present here. Please note that all specimens in the pocket have some minor damage or a few dings, though it is minimal to the display impact in most cases, as noted. All specimens show a vivid translucency and color contrast in person that is hard to capture in photos, though we have done our best to capture the colors accurately. The first photo of each set shows the specimen in transmitted light, lit from behind by a reasonably normal halogen lightsource. This backlighting accentuates the purple-raspberry phantoms inside and can be replicated easily with any decent showcase. The remaining photos are taken with reflected light, light from the front, and these photos highlight the yellow color of the overlaying cubic crystals more accurately. Taking the two together, you can see that the contrast is vivid and unusual.
This large plate has good lustre and rich color hues, both the yellow (amber-golden) and the purple (raspberry-red-purpley in hue). It has excellent contrast of the colors and super sharp phantoms in nearly all crystals. There is almost no damage, only restricted to a bit of edge wear in the center, and minimal in context visually (though price was halved accordingly). It practically glows when backlit. All in all, a stunning, large, dramatic piece that is quite unlike anything you have ever seen from this mine or any other
Gorgeous contrasting colors of the sharp purple phantoms vs. intense golden-yellow fluorite to inchlong crystals, make these stunning specimens. This elongated plate has a lot of display area for the price, and practically glows when backlit.
Intense contrasts of colors play out on this cab sized specimen, with sharp raspberry-purple inclusions inside intense yellow crystals up to to about an inch in size.
A bizarre, sharply contrasting piece with intense raspberry-purple phantoms enclosed within amber-yellow fluorite crystals to an inch in size. The contrasts of color and symmetry are striking. Oddly, not all purple phantoms inside line up on the same axes with respect to their outer shell crystals - an unusual phenomenon. The combinatorial patterning effect is really unusual and this is one of my favorite pieces of the lot for this reason, when combined with the very high lustre and transparency of the piece. It is however, admittedly priced down by half due to some edge wear which can be seen on close inspection of 2 central crystals. Nevertheless, a truly standout visual addition to any fluorite suite!
A bizarre, sharply contrasting piece with intense raspberry-purple phantoms enclosed within amber-yellow fluorite crystals to an inch in size. The contrasts of color and symmetry are striking. Oddly, there are TWO generations/zones of purple phantoms inside , one showing parallel phantoms and one with cubic phantoms turned at 45 degrees from the surrounding yellow fluorite axis. The combinatorial patterning effect is really unusual and this is perhaps my favorite piece of the lot for this reason, when combined with the high lustre and transparency of the piece. A neat addition to any fluorite suite!
This is the largest specimen in the lot with good lustre and the richest color hues, both the yellow (amber-golden) and the purple (raspberry-red-purpley in hue). It has excellent contrast of the colors and super sharp phantoms in nearly all crystals. There is almost no damage, only restricted to the edge periphery anyhow and minimal in context. It practically glows when backlit. All in all, a stunning, large, dramatic piece that is quite unlike anything you have ever seen from this mine or any other
Intense contrasts of colors play out on this small cab sized specimen, with sharp raspberry-purple inclusions inside intense yellow crystals. Minor edge wear on the front-left crystal (natural in origin, I suspect) is present but it displays quite well
A bizarre, sharply contrasting piece with intense raspberry-purple phantoms enclosed within amber-yellow fluorite crystals to an inch in size. The contrasts of color and symmetry are striking. Oddly, there are TWO generations/zones of purple phantoms inside , one showing sharp and linear parallel phantoms and one with boxlike rectangular phantoms turned at 45 degrees from the surrounding yellow fluorite axis. The combinatorial patterning effect is really unusual,especially when combined with the high lustre and transparency of the piece. A neat addition to any fluorite suite!
A large, impressive specimen quite unlike any other fluorite phantoms you have seen from other locales in both pattern and color contrast. In fact, it is the largest survivor of this pocket (mined in 2002-2003) that I have seen. Large crystals to just over 1 inch in size surround a central included ridge of matrix, making this one of the two more 3-dimensional specimens here. There is only minor damage , mostly peripheral edge wear you would expect, and only one minor cleaved crystal to mention - but overall these are lost in the crowd of so many crystals; and the price is adjusted accordingly. The piece shows both the golden-amber color, and the raspberry-purple phantoms, very well! It is quite a bit more dramatic in person All Content and Design ©1996-2012 The ArkenstonePowered by http://mineralwebsites.comMineral Specimens by species; or by specimen id. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||