Rhodochrosite with Fluorite and Apatite - image 1

Rhodochrosite with Fluorite and Apatite - image 3

Rhodochrosite with Fluorite and Apatite

Unknown Owner

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Cherry-red rhombs of rhodochrosite, to 1.4 cm on edge, highlight this showy cabinet-sized plate from the famous Sweet Home Mine. The color, luster, and form of the rhodos are all good, and they are in combination with lustrous cubes of purple fluorite, to 5 mm, and surprisingly heavily draped with an extensive coating of sparkling apatite (technically, fluorapatite) crystals. Having both apatite and fluorite together is unusual, and helps date this piece to the special finds of the mid-1990s. This piece is particularly fascinating under UV light, with the fluorites fluorescing a vivid purple-blue and the apatites a classic yellow color. This combination of colors, both expected and unexpected, play off each other beautifully. With the Sweet Home long-closed, quality pieces such as this continue to be hard to find, and obtain. This has to be one of the richest Sweet Home apatite specimens out there, from what we remember of the heyday years.