Fluorite stalactite

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Every now and then, the productive fluorite mines of China throw us a surprise, even from old mines we have followed for 30 years and think we have seen all they can do. This is the second of two very unusual stalactites of gem fluorite we found in a Chinese collection. It is actually a strange, elongated, TRANSPARENT stalactite of fluorite crystals, somehow stacked one upon another with a central organization around a "thread" visible within. It is hard to explain the complex process that must have wrought these growths. They came out of a small pocket, only once, in artisanal mining of these old fluorite mines during Covid; and we bought them in China on my return travel after the Covid years. We saw only a few of this quality, as well as some broken pieces. The two we present here are pristine, complete, terminated all around, gemmy, transparent, sparkling...and simply mesmerizing. What we think happened is that they formed around some kind of nucleating mineral such as aragonite or quartz (a faden style, perhaps), which is now missing and gone as the tube within is actually hollow. You can see this from underneath. They look like nothing so much as gem fluorite candlesticks. Highly unusual. Gemmier in person! A bonus is the strong fluorescence.