Fluorite (GEM crystals!) (ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection)

Item Description

This remote Chinese locality has become a prolific producer of fine quality crystallized specimens. This beautiful miniature display specimen hosts, WATER CLEAR, colorless, modified Fluorite crystals associated with minor Calcite and Hedenbergite underneath. I can clearly see cubic, dodecahedral and octahedral faces on the piece, though there are dozens of tiny modifying faces of other habits as well. You can see that the crystals so transparent, that you can read through them! Overall, the piece is in superb condition, as I cannot find any major damage to the Fluorite group, just a tiny bit of roughness along the back where it was attached to the pocket wall. The piece actually sits quite beautifully on its own without the aid of a base or clay as you can see in the photos. A wonderful and showy example of this gorgeous material. Priced at $1,200 in the inventory. Ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection. Along with amassing one of the finest private mineral collections in the world, Steve is a renowned mathematician. His accomplishments include being awarded the Fields Medal in 1966 along with being the awarded the Wolf Prize in mathematics in 2007. You can read Steve's bio on the Mineralogical Record website ( https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/smalestephen/ ) or on Wikipedia.