Fluorapatite & Quartz on Chalcopyrite (rare old combo) Kay Robertson

Item Description

A very rich, showy and RARE old-time two-sided combination from this historic copper mine discovered in 1610. One side of the sculptural piece is richly covered with sharp, glassy, translucent, tabular hexagonal fluorapatite crystals, to 9 mm, and adorable sprays of tiny quartz points. The back is covered with lustrous, brassy to bronzy to golden iridescent chalcopyrite crystals and has far fewer apatite and quartz crystals. The large apatite is 1.0 cm. The apatites have modest yellow fluorescence. The mounded matrix is solid granular chalcopyrite. Good specimens from here are not often available and most of them date from mining for ore and specimens in the late 1800s. The mine closed in 1973. Such combinations in this richness and quality are VERY RARE and this is an exceptional example. Ex Kay Robertson Collection # 6730 and comes with a Japanese label. Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007).