SOLD
UKF22-25
Fluorite with Aragonite
"Queen of Green" pocket, Diana Maria Mine, Rogerley Quarry, Stanhope, County Durham, England, UK
Small Cabinet, 7.6 x 5.8 x 3.5 cm
SOLD

While the Rogerley quarry has been worked in some capacity off and on since the early 1970s, some of the finest specimens recovered have been in the recent workings at the Diana Maria mine, which began specimen mining in 2017. This pocket, the Queen of Green pocket, notably produced some of the most incredible gemmy, emerald green fluorites associated with white aragonite and galena. This small cabinet specimen exhibits some of the best qualities of the find: numerous clusters of GEM green fluorite, up to 1.5cm cover the surface, with the largest crystals concentrated at the top and right side of the specimen. A blanket of white aragonite coats many of the smaller crystals closer to the matrix. Many of the crystals are pristine, with some light damage/cleaving around the perimeter due to extracting and trimming, none of which detracts from the wonderful aesthetics of the specimen. The fluorite exhibits wonderful daylight fluorescence, which is distinctive for the locality, and strong fluorescence under UV light. A very fine small cabinet sized example of this classic UK material! In person, looking at the specimens here, this one stands out for perfection, balance, color. It was originally priced at $5000 by the dealer bringing the pocket to market. We are pleased to announce that we made a sizable purchase of the stashed material from this find, which had been put away before COVID, and so we are now able to offer them years later and at half the original asking prices!