Name: Fluorite on Calcite
Brand: The Arkenstone
Price: 37500 USD
Availability: InStock

Updated 2d ago

Fluorite on Calcite

This fluorite crystal is a significant survivor from the "old days" of the opening up of Russian minerals to the world and features a single giant cube that dominates a ridge of calcite matrix and is tremendously impactful in person - gemmy, nearly totally transparent, and a vivid green in color. This is literally one of the classic styles that shocked the whole outside mineral world in the early 1990s when the Russian market opened up and disgorged a hoard of material (much of it collected somewhat earlier). The huge ice cube-like crystal is 9 x 7.5 x 7 cm and just dominates the view. It is hard to take your eyes away from it. It has a pastel green color combined with a sharp cubic form that still sets this apart from Chinese material, which came out later in a flood. The Russian material of this caliber is much more rare and scarce for a collector to obtain in quality compared to a superficially similar Chinese green fluorite, and to my eye stands out in a crowd or a showcase. Yet, with recent pricing driving the price of Chinese fluorites both domestically and in the worldwide market, Chinese material - even though more common - has surprisingly far surpassed pricing on these old Russian pieces when they do turn up. The sharpness and overall "feel" of this old Russian material makes a huge impact on display. Despite the exposure of this crystal, it is nearly pristine - a few trivial edge restorations, only. This was long one of the most important and admired fluorites in Jack Halpern's collection, now cleaned and prepared for the first time since he bought it in the 1990s. It had a place of honor for decades; and we are proud to have it now. Cameras do not do well on such large gemmy fluorites - it really is better in person.

$37,500.00