Carbonate-rich Fluorapatite (var: ''Staffelite'') with Opal-AN (Hyalite Opal)

Item Description

When it comes to Hyalite Opal - the proper name is Opal (var Opal-AN) - the specimens from Valec are the most famous in my mind. This material is essentially colorless Opal, and resembles lustrous glass beads. The historic old mines around Valec are now closed as they lay in a military reservation, so these specimens will never be found again. This beautiful small cabinet sized piece features eye-cacthing groups of spherical whitish "balls" of Carbonate-rich Fluorapatite (var: Staffelite) intermixed with minor gemmy, colorless spherical "bead"-like nodules of Opal-AN on host rock matrix. If you're an Opal or Apatite collector, this is a worthwhile representative piece of this classic material, featuring the famous "Staffelite" associated.