CHFLO-30
Fluorite on Dolomite
Shangbao, Hunan Province, China
Cabinet, 11.1 x 8.6 x 5.9 cm
SOLD
This specimen features a single, jewel-like, purple-zoned, cuboctohedral fluorite (1.7 cm across) perched on a dramatic plate of dolomite. Except at the periphery, the dolomites are in good shape. Quartz association is a nice bonus! Overall, a very unique association I have not seen before and with two minerals both of high quality. The dolomites have a porcelain-like look to them. Purple crystals in this pocket were few and far between, it seems. The Chinese asked a huge premium for them, I am told. I have seen only a few amidst the green-blue colors more common in the pocket. 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.