Fluorite on Dolomite

Unknown Owner

Help improve this recordNo owner is registered for this specimen yet. If it's yours or you know more about it, you can add the owner, provenance, publications and other details.

A sharp, gemmy, freestanding 2.2-cm fluorite with subtle color gradations and phantoms is perched upon porcelain dolomite crystals, on this superb miniature. The fluorite is complete in back, but covered by a thin druse of quartz. On the front and sides, it is free and clear of any obstruction and perched remarkably upright. The dolomite plate is also free of damage. 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. NOTE: these exhibit the photographic property of metamerism. They change colors from halogen and professional bulbs (more blue) to indoor fluorescent lighting and even natural sunlight (more green). Examples from both are shown here. The change is startling if you do not expect it, and quite pronounced in the right lighting.