Fluorapatite (superb gemmy crystal!) (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

A superb example of the famous Slyudyanka Apatites. The crystal is thicker than most I've seen from the locality, and it's still incredibly gemmy despite its girth. What's even more interesting is the fact that when it's backlit, the piece shows a mixture of colors ranging from golden-yellow to green to blue. The colors combine in different directions to create beautiful hues depending upon which angle the piece is viewed. The smooth, vitreous / waxy prism faces are just as lustrous as the pyramidal termination. Overall it's in good condition, though there is a contacted area on the front, so it's not damage free. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #7291CL. Chet was born 1947 in started collecting minerals circa 1957. He worked briefly as a drill runner at the famous Sterling Mine, in Ogdensburg, New Jersey and from 1987 to 1990 he helped convert the mine into a public access mining museum. He has held the role of treasurer, vice president and president of the Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society (FOMS), and has been a board member and vice president of the Franklin Mineral Museum. The rare copper arsenate, Lemanskiite was named in his honor in 1999.