Fluorapatite (ex Irv Brown Collection)

Item Description

Purple is by far the most sought after color for Apatite, and it seems that it is also the rarest color in nature. Here we have a lovely thumbnail sized specimen of the classic purple Fluorapatites from Afghanistan featuring a doubly-terminated group of sharp, lustrous, translucent, beautiful purple color, hexagonal tabular crystals free of matrix. There are a few accenting "sidecar" crystals on the side of the main group, giving the piece good three-dimensional quality. It's in very good shape overall, with only a few nicks here and there. These specimens were a lot more plentiful on the market 20 years ago, and seemed to have dried up on the market today. If you collect thumbnails, gem crystals, pegmatite species or have just been looking for a really nice purple Apatite, check this one out. From the worldwide thumbnail / miniature collection of Irv Brown. Price at $450.