Barite and Fluorite on Quartz ("floater") specimen (ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection)

Item Description

A beauty from the Xiefang Mine featuring a great association of very sharp, highly lustrous, well-formed, thick bladed crystals of golden Barite measuring up to 1.3 cm associated with soft silvery-lavender colored, translucent cubic Fluorite crystals on a plate of Quartz. The piece is crystallized all the way around and is a complete "floater". I can see some minor nicks to some of the Barites, but overall they are in great shape. Hard to photograph, and I think the piece truly looks better in person. A great chance to pick up one of these beautiful classic pieces from the mine that has produced the best golden Barites in China. Priced at $1,200 in the inventory. Ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection. Along with amassing one of the finest private mineral collections in the world, Steve is a renowned mathematician. His accomplishments include being awarded the Fields Medal in 1966 along with being the awarded the Wolf Prize in mathematics in 2007. You can read Steve's bio on the Mineralogical Record website ( https://mineralogicalrecord.com/labels.asp?colid=671&page=1 ) or on Wikipedia.