Calcite with Fluorite (2-sided specimen) (ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection)

Item Description

A stunning two-sided large cabinet display specimen of the famous Fluorites with Calcite from the Xianghuapu Mine. I have to say up front that this piece was difficult to photograph, and trust me, the Fluorite side looks better in person. One side of the specimen is loaded with fine, translucent, smoky-silvery colored compressed rhombic scalenohedral crystals of Calcite measuring up to 4.1 cm across, which actually partially carry over to the other side and form a beautiful "ridge" atop a group of VERY sharp, rather lustrous, WATER CLEAR, soft "water" green colored cubic Fluorites measuring up to 1.7 cm on edge on matrix. The Fluorites simply put look lousy in the photos due to their absolute transparency, so they appear muddled and "murky" in the photos, but you can clearly see how fine they are when you hold the piece in your hands. Looking closely I can see some of the Fluorite cubes actually have some tiny dodecahedral modifications along the edges for a nice touch. For a piece of this size, it's in amazingly good condition with only a few trivial imperfections here and there, but mostly damage free all around. You just don't see these pieces like this on the market anymore, and it would make a superb addition to a Fluorite and / or Calcite collection or a suite of Chinese minerals or just beautiful association specimens. Priced in the inventory at $4,500. 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.