Fluorite on Adularia

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This specimen is from a find of fall 2008, which has really shocked the French fluorite collectors that I know, and is the kind of rare locality find that impresses outsiders as well. The color, luster, and transparency of these crystals is above average for Chamonix, more of a vibrant pink-red than the usual muted pink hues we have seen in most pockets of these rare Alpine fluorites. This particular specimen is one of my favorite miniatures recovered, with SHARP AND GEMMY, transparent crystals to 2.7 cm. They ar evibrantly lustrous - better in person! The crystals are perched on stark white, crystallized adularia (feldspar) matrix. It is a stunning association and contrast. The crystals here are piled up, one atop the other. Note that the apex crystal has a termination that is complete all around, 360 degrees. In person, it is see-through gemmy and more bright than it appears in the photos. The specimen is pristine save a small contact or cleave on the lower and leftmost fluorite crystal, and the tiniest little white spot from an adularia contact on the left edge of the big crystal. The piece displays magnificently. There has ALWAYS been a premium attached to Alpine pink fluorites. I know these seem expensive! However, all I can say is that, in Europe, I have seen the same absolute numbers on pieces but in EUROS instead of in USD. And this at nearly 1.5 ratio, so a super premium. Compared to others I have seen in the past, these are a better quality more in line with what the top gem fluorites of other localities aim for; and the price here is probably more warranted than on any other pocket of pinks fro mthe Alps since 1998 when another such special find came out. It has been since 1998 and the Pt Kurtz pocket that a single find of pink/red fluorite from the Alps has gotten so much attention and produced a new, unprecedented quality. This does not happen, thus, very often. Few good specimens were available, under several dozen.