SMR01 Fluorite
Huanggang Mine, Hexigten Banner (Keshiketeng Co.), Ulanhad League (Chifeng Prefecture), Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
16.0x 14.8x 8.0 cm
$6000

This is the best example of this greenish-purple fluorite habit that I have seen from Huanggang. 

Its size, overall form, and most impressively the number of crystals on the piece make it stand out considerably beyond any of the others I have seen.  Although there are a couple minor chips (the main one to note is on the top-most crystal, this is visible in the pictures), that aside there are no really broken crystals-- quite a feat when you consider the number of crystals, and that they have to be painstakingly etched and then physically uncovered from beneath a quartz coating.

There were a few smaller pieces available in Tucson this year, and I bought the best I saw.  Even among that lot, almost all had significant damage issues.  To find a piece of this size in this condition is truly unusual.

The color is better in sunlight-- there is a deep blue-green underglow.  The crystals seem much paler in the pictures, because the lightly etched surfaces reflect light during the process of photography.












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CLIM19 Fluorite
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