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Mineral Specimens with Fluorite
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This is from a new pocket found at the end of 2008, and quietly trickled into Tucson in 2009. It is a select, cherrypicked piece featuring a zoned, multicolored 2.8-cm fluorite perched on beautiful, lustrous, dolomite crystals. The dolomites have a porcelain-like quality to them and the stark contrast in texture and geometry is appealing. The fluorite is pristine. The dolomite has one broken crystal in the front-middle-right side, which is trivial. The piece displays wonderfully but I must say has a sawed surface on the upper-right edge (which you do not see form the display face, anyhow). So, the piece is offered at a reduced price if i do not have to go and manually work down the sawed edge to hide the flat mark facing to the rear, ad would be moreexpensive otherwise. This may not bother some people, and if so you get a good deal for it. I know that quality specimens from this pocket were going for prices much higher than this, under the table and privately at Tucson. It will, in retrospect, turn out to be one of the more interesting fluorite combinations from China and is really a unique combination so far as I can see. NOTE: these exhibit the photographic property of metamerism. They change colors from halogen and professional bulbs (more blue) to indoor fluorescent lighting and even natural sunlight (more green). Examples from both are shown here. The change is startling if you do not expect it, and quite pronounced in the right lighting.
This is from a new pocket found at the end of 2008, and quietly trickled into Tucson in 2009. It is a select, cherrypicked piece featuring subtly phantomed, green-blue fluorite perched on beautiful, lustrous, dolomite crystals. The dolomites have a porcelain-like quality to them and the stark contrast in texture and geometry is appealing. The fluorite is pristine over the length of the display face and the crystals measure to 2 cm. I know that quality specimens from this pocket were going for prices much higher than this, under the table and privately at Tucson. It will, in retrospect, turn out to be one of the more interesting fluorite combinations from China and is really a unique combination so far as I can see. NOTE: these exhibit the photographic property of metamerism. They change colors from halogen and professional bulbs (more blue) to indoor fluorescent lighting and even natural sunlight (more green). Examples from both are shown here.
This is from a new pocket found at the end of 2008, and quietly trickled into Tucson in 2009. It is a select, cherrypicked piece featuring cuboctohedral purple crystals phantomed with deep purple cores. Only a handful of specimens in this pocket were purple! The fluorite is perched on beautiful, lustrous, dolomite crystals. The dolomites have a porcelain-like quality to them and the stark contrast in texture and geometry is appealing. The larger fluorite, 3.4 cm across, is pristine and the smaller one is nearly so (with only a small contact-induced spot on the far left edge of one corner). The dolomite on the display face has excellent lustre, and is complete except for only a few peripheral crystals. I know that quality specimens from this pocket were going for prices much higher than this, under the table and privately at Tucson. It will, in retrospect, turn out to be one of the more interesting fluorite combinations from China and is really a unique combination so far as I can see.
This is from a new pocket found at the end of 2008, and quietly trickled into Tucson in 2009. It is a select, cherrypicked piece featuring subtly phantomed, green-blue fluorite perched on beautiful, lustrous, dolomite crystals. The dolomites have a porcelain-like quality to them and the stark contrast in texture and geometry is appealing. The fluorite is pristine over the length of the display face and the crystals measure to 4 cm. They are extremely 3-dimensional, really jumping off the plate. The dolomite plate is complete on the display face, sawed on the back to remove it cleanly from the host matrix. I know that quality specimens from this pocket were going for prices much higher than this, under the table and privately at Tucson. It will, in retrospect, turn out to be one of the more interesting fluorite combinations from China and is really a unique combination as well.
This dramatic piece features a pristine, 3.8-cm-across fluorite with intense green-purple zoning. IT IS THE MOST INTENSELY COLORED CRYSTAL IN THIS LOT, AND I DID BUY A BIG CHUNK OF THE POCKET...No subtle phantom here! The crystal is one of the best and biggest of this style, and is really impactful. It is pristine, complete, and totally translucent. The dolomite next to it is 6 cm. It is perched on BOTH quartz and porcelain-like dolomite, making for a rgeat contrast. I got this directly from a foreign mineral dealer's private collection, and he from the mines...it has been trimmed with a saw on the backside to reduce it to a good aesthetic display, though saw marks remain on the rear and bottom (irelevant from the front display). These can be manually worked down, if desired, at some cost (and so I am offering it more cheaply first than I would afterwards, if this matters). All the quartz is good except for a few small xls at the base of the specimen. This is from a new pocket found at the end of 2008, and quietly trickled into Tucson in 2009. It should be remembered as a very distinct style, something different from any we have seen before for the mine or a fluorite combination. NOTE: these exhibit the photographic property of metamerism. They change colors from halogen and professional bulbs (more blue) to indoor fluorescent lighting and even natural sunlight (more green). Examples from both are shown here. The change is startling if you do not expect it, and quite pronounced in the right lighting.
This dramatic piece features a pristine, 3.4-cm-across fluorite with complicated, subtly layered, green-purple zoning. The crystal is pristine, complete, and totally translucent. The dolomite holding it up is very dramatic and 3-dimensional, complementing the fluorite by its very differrent shape and color. This is from a new pocket found at the end of 2008, and quietly trickled into Tucson in 2009. It should be remembered as a very distinct style, something different from any we have seen before for the mine or a fluorite combination. NOTE: these exhibit the photographic property of metamerism. They change colors from halogen and professional bulbs (more blue) to indoor fluorescent lighting and even natural sunlight (more green). Examples from both are shown here. The change is startling if you do not expect it, and quite pronounced in the right lighting.
This bizarre specimen is from a very small mine, that I am told played out quickly and produced few specimens. I had never heard of it except for some small, inconsequential pieces a few years ago. What a distinct style! This piece, despite its size, is remarkably pristine. It is also a floater, complete all around, and even on the backside (where it broke from the pocket, and some later crystallization healed the wound). I have seen only 4 pieces from this mine, of this style, over several years. This is BY FAR the best one that I know of, and it must rank as one of the most dramatic Chinese fluorites around, I would think. It looks like a cluster of pagodas, even. The piece is a VIVID green color, as if you put food coloring into a normal fluorite by vacuum injection, and it positively glows when backlit. Our photos show it in normal lighting only, nothing fancy. In stronger lighting, it is entirely transparent. The whole display face, and all those outstanding gemmy cubes at the major octohedral points, is nearly pristine with just a few nearly invisible dings - if you look very closely. I consider this to be in remarkable condition , given its size and exposure in what was surely a narrow vein pocket. Out of all the thousands of Chinese fluorites we have seen, here is somethign entirely, uniquely, different. You can tell from the verbiage, I suspect, what i think of this piece. It was one of the previous owners' real prizes, purchased at the mining region in China in 2005.
This dramatic piece features a pristine, 8-cm-across dolomite cluster of high quality, splaying from a cluster of gemmy, lavender-colored fluorite of very unusual form and color for this mine. The fluorite is very unusual...only a few of this style were recovered. It is pristine, complete on the display face although contacted in back, and totally translucent. The dolomite is a very good size and has a sparkle to it, a sheen of pearlescence, which is appealing. This is from a new pocket found at the end of 2008, and quietly trickled into Tucson in 2009. It should be remembered as a very distinct style, something different from any we have seen before for the mine or a fluorite combination.
This dramatic piece features a pristine, 3-cm-across fluorite with complicated, subtly layered, green-purple zoning. The crystals atop are both freestanding, pristine, complete, and totally translucent. The dolomite underneath it is very dramatic and 3-dimensional, complementing the fluorite by its very differrent shape and color. It is also a rather LARGE dolomite crystal, too! A sprinkling of small, green-blue fluorites run downs its saddleback, for accent. This is from a new pocket found at the end of 2008, and quietly trickled into Tucson in 2009. It should be remembered as a very distinct style, something different from any we have seen before for the mine or a fluorite combination.
A large plate of sheer color, this gorgeous and unusually rich example from the pocket has deep, rich color. In halogens it goes blue and in inside fluorescent lighting it goes a rich seafoam green with blue/purple cores. The whole nest of fat fluorites sits on a massive, large dolomite crystal. This is from a new pocket found at the end of 2008, and quietly trickled into Tucson in 2009. It should be remembered as a very distinct style, something different from any we have seen before for the mine or a fluorite combination.
This is a very choice small cab, one of my favorites, featuring a balloon-like 4 cm fluorite perched snugly atop an elongated dolomite crystal. The fluorite is riveting in its complexity on the surface and internally, hidden within simplicity of overall form. It is transparent despite its thickness, and just glows like a jewel atop the dolomite matrix. This is from a new pocket found at the end of 2008, and quietly trickled into Tucson in 2009. It should be remembered as a very distinct style, something different from any we have seen before for the mine or a fluorite combination.
This is one of the few larger plates of sheer color. This gorgeous and unusually rich example from the pocket has deep, rich color. In halogens it goes blue and in inside fluorescent lighting it goes a rich seafoam green with blue/purple cores. The whole nest of fat fluorites sits on a massive, large dolomite crystal underneath, and the fluorite coating is complete all around. In person, it is much more 3-dimensional than it appears here. This is from a new pocket found at the end of 2008, and quietly trickled into Tucson in 2009. It should be remembered as a very distinct style, something different from any we have seen before for the mine or a fluorite combination.
A large, juicy, 3-cm crystal sits in a cluster with smaller fluorites, on a bed of small dolomite crystals, all on massive dolomite. This piece has unusually rich seafoam green-blue color and really for color impact is among the best here, though its phantoms are minimal. This is from a new pocket found at the end of 2008, and quietly trickled into Tucson in 2009. It should be remembered as a very distinct style, something different from any we have seen before for the mine or a fluorite combination. NOTE: these exhibit the photographic property of metamerism. They change colors from halogen and professional bulbs (more blue) to indoor fluorescent lighting and even natural sunlight (more green). Examples from both are shown here. The change is startling if you do not expect it, and quite pronounced in the right lighting.
Sharp, gemmy, freestanding fluorites to 1.75 cm, with subtle color gradations and phantoms , are perched upon porcelain dolomite crystals, on this really show small cab. The fluorites are completeall around and perched on beautiful, contrasting dolomite crystals. A quartz shooting up next to one fluorite is a welcome accent. This specimen has crystals with particularly deeply colored purple cores in seafoam green cushions of later fluorite around them. It is MUCH more 3-dimensional and colorful in person. This is from a new pocket found at the end of 2008, and quietly trickled into Tucson in 2009. It should be remembered as a very distinct style, something different from any we have seen before for the mine or a fluorite combination.
This balloon-like, fat crystal of fluorite measures 4 cm across. It has a deep purple core and blue-green zones around it, leading to very complex, stepped faces on the surface. This is one of the larger cuboctohedral crystals in the find, and of a very high quality because of the color saturation, size, and the complete-all-around aesthetics. The fluorite is perched on, impaled on, a single dolomite crystal and stands upright as shown. The dolomite is complete all around and in fact, even on the bottom - so the whole combination is a floater! This is from a new pocket found at the end of 2008, and quietly trickled into Tucson in 2009. It should be remembered as a very distinct style, something different from any we have seen before for the mine or a fluorite combination.
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Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com
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