Fluorite (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

The famous Fontsante Mine in southeastern France is famous for producing a wide variety of colors of Fluorite. I've seen virtually every color of Fluorite from this mine, with the exception of pink/red. This particular piece features bi-colored crystals with a golden hue towards the interior, which transitions into a soft violet hue on the outer edges. The crystals are sharp, well-formed cubes with good overall gemminess and measure up to 1.2 cm on edge. Minor metallic Chalcopyrite can be seen on the edges of a few crystals. Very good condition, with only minor roughness here and there. If you collect Fluorites, this is a hard to find color from this mine, and if you're a fan of French minerals, this is certainly a worthwhile piece to pick up for your collection. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #0640CL. 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.