Fluorite

$3,000.00

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This large (5.5 cm) single crystal of Fluorite on matrix from 2nd Sovetskii mine, Dalnegorsk in the Kavalerovo Mining District, Primorskiy Kray, Russia displays a textbook dodecahedron shape, so much so that Arvid Pasto from whose collection is came, figured it in his book, Collector's Guide to Fluorite, in 2009 (Fig. 15, page 15). Pasto noted that the dodecahedron is the second most common crystal form of Fluorite, after the simple cube, but that true dodecahedra are rare. This is certainly a true dodecahedron, and looks like a giant colourless Garnet. It really is a perfect crystal in terms of its shape and with no external damage it makes for a stunning crystallographic piece. Internally, it shows some minor flaws, with two parallel lines presumably marking cleavage planes, and some orange rusty inclusions are also evident. Being on matrix makes this a much more balanced specimen for display and provides contextual geological information. Its matrix is Quartz and Siderite, but also hosts several small, but fine brassy hexagonal Pyrrhotite crystals. These colourless Fluorites came out from Dalnegorsk in the 1980s and 1990s and none have been seen since. They are highly collectible as stunning examples of the crystal form of Fluorite.