Chalcedony pseudomorph after Fluorite (ex Charlie Key)

Item Description

Originally reported as coming from Blinkpan, which is actually west of this farm, these beautiful specimens are rare survivors of a small find that produced GREAT carving rough for cabochons and jewelry made of Chalcedony (its gemmy) to the detriment of the original specimens from our point of view! Charlie saved some from the cutters though, and these are a few selected from a flat we have of this rare and beautiful old material from the 1980s. This one is particularly nice because it shows the lace agate in layers around the chalcedony, that provided the silica for replacement of the Fluorite crystals that were originally on this matrix. In other words, this piece preserves the full geological context of the discovery with crystals in the ground changing over time to another mineral due to alterations in the chemistry and environment. Besides, its beautiful, too! I've seen this same type of replacement from Romania, and Cornwall, but NEVER is such attractive, colorfull and gemmy specimens, as pieces from Europe tend to be white and opaque.