Fluorapatite (var: Carbonate-rich Fluorapatite) (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

This material was called Francolite for a while, and is now defined as Carbonate-rich Fluorapatite (a variety of Fluorapatite). I remember seein a few of these pieces several years ago, and then they disappeared. Typically the material is a pale beige hue, and I'm told that these specimens from Russia gets their color from Copper content. This piece is a great example of Francolite featuring radiating turquoise-blue aggregates with a shimmering luster on host rock matrix. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#7659). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record).