New Fluorite Find from "Old" Naica, Mexico!

NOTE ON PHOTOGRAPHY AND COLORS: These are bright, glassy, and some of them so clear that it is difficult to photograph and tempting to enhance color to compensate. Please note that we have done our best to err on the side of accuracy in photography, as always. The colors have not been compensated here and so when you see a hint of green, it is usually more so in person. When you see clear crystals here, you should assume that they look "cleaner" in person due to the reflections off internal planes caught by the camera that don't show up as visibly to the eye.

34 specimens selected...
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flu33 - Fluorite with Pyrite inclusions on Sphalerite - $ 2500
Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
small cabinet, 8.2 x 7.6 x 4.1 cm

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One of the most striking pieces in this find, that I know of, and one of my favorites of all Naicas I have seen, for the startling gemminess of the crystals which show bright pyrite inclusions floating inside; for the perfection of the display face; and the balanced aesthetics and contrast on bright, jetblack sphalerite matrix. This is a superb specimen by any standard, and shows the "classic" cuboctohedral habit of Naica at its best. The lustre and transparency are top class, by any standard. The pyrites make it, though. Also, pieces like this are VERY distinct form earlier finds which had much more prominent galena association and less of the sphalerite. The rich , killer-quality sphalerite that is more common in this pocket is really quite unusual for Naica in any quantity, and with good fluorite in association.

flu31 - Fluorite with Pyrite inclusions - $ 850
Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
small cabinet, 6.3 x 6.2 x 5.6 cm

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A stunning crystal cluster of the deeper green hue from the pocket, perched against a large crystal that is nearly colorless...and both intergrown so complexly that you have to sit and stare to make sure this isn't the same continuous crystal inexplicably changing on us. In person, you can see this is a very 3-dimensional piece. It can be displayed from about 4 different angles to show green on clear or both side by side, as you wish. It is complete all around, save only a contact on the back side and some galena attachments on the back; and totally undamaged.

flu36 - Fluorite and Sphalerite - $ 950
Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
small cabinet, 8.0 x 5.5 x 5.0 cm

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Stunning cluster of two gemmy, EXTREMELY COMPLEXLY STEPPED AND MODIFIED cuboctohedra, separated by a lustrous sphalerite cluster which each partially overgrows as they almost meet in the middle. The contrasts is strikign and the 3-dimensionality more impressive in person. It is one of the better small cabs in the lot, to be honest, but so hard to convey with pics that we downgraded the price a bit to move it when really it look smuch better in person!

flu15 - Fluorite - $ 850
Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
small cabinet, 7.7 x 6.7 x 6.0 cm

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This specimen sits on its own as shown, but can be displayed any number of ways. It is VERY dramatic in person, showcasing a large single crystal atop, and contrasted nicely to the stairstep crystallization on the left side. However, you can also rotate the piece up and 90 degrees to show the major crystal and the "tower stack" splaying out to the left and right. VERY NICE either way! The piece is pristine and damage free. The large crystal is 4 cm across and is remarkable for its clarity and quality. Also, for Naica, it is more cubic than most of the larger crystals in the new pocket which tend to have more octohedral modifications. This is one o fmy favorite, if not the most expensive by any means, of the small cabs in the lot.

flu16 - Fluorite - $ 750
Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
small cabinet, 9.2 x 8.0 x 5.8 cm

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Sharp gemmy, pastel green cuboctohedral crystals to almost 4 cm across make this a wonderful display piece with lots of pizzazz in person. You can se ei nthe photo that the crystals are SO GEMMY and transparent tha tyou can look right through them to the bit of attached matrix of sulpides behind - that's over an inch and a half thick ! In person, the piece actually displays better tilted 90 degrees to the left but the right view emphasizes the inclusion in the photo...both views are shown here. Undamaged, pristine, display face!

flu23 - Fluorite on Sphalerite with Pyrite inclusions - $ 475
Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
miniature, 6.0 x 4.5 x 4.4 cm

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Fluorite on Sphalerite with Pyrite inclusions from Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico [db_pics/pics/flu23a.jpg]

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Fluorite on Sphalerite with Pyrite inclusions from Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico [db_pics/pics/flu23b.jpg]

A stunning miniature with a 3.5-cm complex crystal cluster atop. This looks like a mountain rising out of a nest of surrounding trees , I think...the single large and sharp, gemmy, cuboctohedron in the middle just risign above the surrounding minutely crystallized fluorite! All perched on a nice mound of crystallized sphalerite and complete all around.

flu30 - Fluorite on Sphalerite - $ 850
Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
small cabinet, 7.1 x 6.2 x 4.8 cm

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The pics pretty well convey here the stunning 3-dimensional crystalography of this specimen, featuring a large "doublet" cuboctohedron with a strangely elongated horizontal axis perched atop a smaller crystal showing more cubic and less octohedral faces. The large crystal is 5.5 cm across and is totally transparent and clean. The crystals stick out dramatically from the underlaying sphalerite matrix (crystallized), which you can look through the smaller crystals and see on the bottom, plus from the underside and sticking out around the edges of the lower fluorite clusters. The piece has a pale color,mostly colorless but with a hint of pastel green floating in the core. For overall geometry, this is one of the most dramatic pieces I have seen from the place, and REALLY leaps out at me.

flu27 - Fluorite with Quartz on Galena on Sphalerite - SOLD
Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
cabinet, 10.5 x 9.3 x 7.3 cm

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Seven TRANSPARENT, gemmy, undamaged cuboctohedral crystals to 3 cm in size perch like mountainclimbers upon this mound of crystallized galena (actually a carpet of galena over a mound of underlaying sphalerite). The contrast is striking! The association with galena is CLASSIC for Naica, for old material. For this NEW find, it seems rather unusual as most of the associations are with sphalerite. Also, the frozen waterfall of sparkling crystallized quartz running down the center of the piece provides a nice accent and some sparkle...and is itself unusual in the occurrence. The piece is large...so the pictures really have trouble conveying how impressive this is, and how starkly frog-eyed the fluorites look in person as they leap out at you from the contrasting galena. It is therefore much more 3-dimensional and impressive in person!

flu28 - Fluorite with Calcite - SOLD
Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
cabinet, 10.0 x 9.3 x 8.7 cm

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Fluorite with Calcite from Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico [db_pics/pics/flu28a.jpg]

This unusual Naica piece is more starkly octohedral than others you normally see from the locale. It is actually the only OLDER specimen slipped into this update of newer material. It dates from , probably, the early 1980s. The piece has two large octos in the middle, coated in front by a blanket of dogtooth calcites. The contrast is very nice! The octos have SLIGHT cubic modifications, you can see, at their very tips. But they are still more octo than cube by far and as such are the exception at Naica.

flu29 - Fluorite - SOLD
Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
cabinet, 11.4 x 9.2 x 8.1 cm

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This really large grapefruit-sized cluster of solid fluorite is VERY impressive for overall flash and the number of bevelled crystals per square inch. It is , however, slightly damaged with a ding here and there, and one broken crystal ont he left-lower edge. Now, they do not immediately detract, but they are there. So, I priced this down from the initial $1250 I would have put on it to make up for those small defects. The whole piece is translucent to transparent, and it is otherwise completely crystallized all around, with galena and sphalerite attached in back. The large crystal atop is over 3 cm and fully formed, very 3-dimensional!

flu00 - Fluorite with Sphalerite - SOLD
Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
cabinet, 15 x 12 x 7 cm

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A stunning combination piece, among the larger pristine specimens to come from this pocket to my knowledge, with two clusters of GEMMY, TRANSPARENT fluorite flanking a central tower of crystallized sphalerite. The sphalerite is lustrous and glassy. The fluorites are totally clean and transparent - and free of any damage. The fluorite clusters measure 5 and 8 cm verticlaly, and eahc is terminated on the bottom end as well if you look at the undersides. The 3-dimensionality is remarkable! The fluorite on the left is nearly colorless with a faint lavender hue, and the one on the right is nearly colorless with just a faint green pastel hue in some lighting. They are essentially colorless though, and so the geometry is all the more apparent as you lok into each complex cluster. The stark contrast of the lustrous, jet black sphalerite between the two fluorite clusters makes the piece , and provides relief. It is MUCH MUCH better in person! Also, pieces like this are VERY distinct form earlier finds which had much more prominent galena association and less of the sphalerite. The rich , killer-quality sphalerite that is more common in this pocket is really quite unusual for Naica in any quantity, and with good fluorite in association.

flu34 - Fluorite - SOLD
Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
cabinet, 15.2 x 11.3 x 8.0 cm

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A large 4 cm crystal atop makes a dramatic capstone to this floater plate of solid fluorite! It is entirely translucent, has good green color, and excellent bright interiors to the crystals. Like many from this pocket, it seems to have broken off from matrix and then recrystallized minutely on the bottom break and the edges, so that now it is even complete all around the sides (microfaceted, if you will). The piece is pristine except for one small unobtrusive daamaged crystal on the left side as shown here - nothing that visibly detracts, in context. It is otherwise , again, complete not only on the front but a floater all around! The piece, because of its good size and color, and complete translucency, displays really well!

flu35 - Fluorite with Galena - SOLD
Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
small cabinet, 9.4 x 6.8 x 6.3 cm

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Large, GEMMY, transparent, green cuboctohedral crystals to a whopping 4 cm, surmounting a knoll-shaped cluster of smaller crystals, also play host to a brilliantly lustrous 2-cm galena crystal! The galena is nestled in a sphalerite embrace, so you have silver on black on green...VERY bright combo, in person! The piece is entirely 100% translucent and is also a floater with a recrystallized break on the bottom contact, and complete even around the backside.

FLU37 - Fluorite on Sphalerite - SOLD
Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
small cabinet, 9.2 x 7.9 x 6.3 cm

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A sharp specimen with a leaning tower of intergrown crystals perched one atop another and leaning out over the sphalerite matrix to present out to you that 3-cm cuboctohedron floating at the right. The rest of the cluster shows more classic Naica "stairstepping" and complexly bevelled crystals closer to the cubic habit, but with lots of outgrowths. Like many from this pocket, even the back is munitely crystallized or rehealed after an old break, making this complete all around and entirely translucent.

flu38 - Fluorite - SOLD
Gibraltar Mine, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
cabinet, 11.0 x 9.4 x 5.3 cm

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This large specimen features a 4.5 cm (almost 2 inch!) GEM-CLEAR crystal perched atop a stack of smaller fluorites, all showing the cuboctahedral form but without the usual stairstepping we see from Naica. These ar etherefore much cleaner and sharper edges, with simpler geometry, that make the crystals really stand out a bit more from the matrix. The colro grades form clear at the edges to a pale green in towards the core. There is no damage and the crystals are complete all around, even around the sides, to the back! There is sphalerite contacted in the middle of the back but this is nearly a floater specimen, again with crystallization right around the edges on all sides and making the crystals thus look very freestanding.

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Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com

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