Fluorite cuboctahedron (fluorescent)

Item Description

An impressive, large, translucent, fluorite cuboctahedron with an attendent cluster of smaller crystals from a small recent, mid-January of 2010, find at the renowned Huanzala Mine of Peru. It produced a number of pink octahedral fluorites, but very few as large as this dramatic piece. This is the first major find of pink fluorites at Huanzala, since the world-famous 1980 find. Most of the faces have a moderate matte luster with intense stepped-growth, typical of this mine. Interestingly, the flat-topped termination to the large octo (it looks like a Mayan pyramid) is very glassy and smooth and there is a gorgeous, 1.5 cm, gem crystal along one edge of this large crystal. There are embedded sparkly pyrite crystals on the contacted sides and base. The color is a rich pink hue, which the backlit photo highlights. For the large size range, this is a fine and uncommon piece. Valued at $1000-1250. SUPER purple fluorescence!!