Fluorapatite with Epidote and "Byssolite" (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

A true Alpine classic, but rare from Switzerland as we often see a lot more Apatites like this from Austria. A group of very sharp, highly lustrous, gemmy, colorless, tabular hexagonal crystals of Fluorapatite measuring up to 1.5 cm are sitting atop a very dark green, prismatic, striated crystal of Epidote (originally labeled as Schorl) and included with a few acicular crystals of rich blue-green "Byssolite" (most likely Actinolite) with minor Albite on the back. Overall the Apatite group is in excellent condition, complete on the front and back with only one little contact on the lower left edge. The Epidote is contacted on both ends, but still provides a wonderful contrast for the colorless Apatites. My favorite aspect of the piece is the fact that it actually sits on its own without the aid of a base or clay. Priced at $350. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#11739). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017).