Fluorite

Item Description

A impressive small cabinet sized Fluorite specimen from this classic locality in the Massif Central of France. This piece host several sharp, well-formed, gemmy, light golden colored crystals of cubic Fluorite measuring up to 2.6 cm on edge sitting smartly on matrix. A small "rose"-esque group of dark brown bladed Siderite crystals along with tiny dark metallic grey-black crystals of Galena can also be seen on the specimen. The main Fluorite has a cleave on one corner, but the rest of the crystals are in very good shape, with only very minor imperfections. The piece is quite showy and presents nicely as you can see from the video. It's quite difficult to find showy display specimens of this material with crystals this size from the Côte Rousse Quarry, so if you're a fan of worldwide Fluorites or French minerals, don't miss out.
From the collection of the recently deceased Alvaro Lucio, arguably the most well-known and accomplished mineral dealer and collector in Brazil. Alvaro graduated with a degree in civil engineering, mining and metallurgy from the Escola de Minas de Ouro Preto in 1949. He began his PhD in the United States and completed it at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. He worked as a professor of extractive metallurgy at UFMG, and also as a technical consultant for several companies in the sector. He was the author of several works, published in books and magazines around the world. He received several honors for his contribution to the development of metallurgy and the introduction of metallurgical physical chemistry in Brazil. His knowledge, solicitousness and enthusiasm will be greatly missed in the mineral world.