Fluorite (GEM ''phantom'' crystals) with Dolomite

Item Description

The Shangbao Mine is one of the top Fluorite localities in China. These top-notch, beautiful Fluorites are a staple of any Fluorite collection or Chinese mineral collection. The specimens from this locality are some of the most distinctive, eye-catching and highest quality examples from anywhere in China. This wonderful cabinet display specimen superb, GEM QUALITY, sharp, lustrous, very well-formed cubic crystals measuring up to 1.7 cm that are aesthetically perched atop a matrix which plays host to pearly white "saddle"-shaped Dolomite groups. The Fluorites have a very soft lilac hue, with a tiny bit of a golden overtone due to minor iron oxide included inside. With the naked eye, the Fluorites are damage free and so elegantly set atop the matrix. A slight amount of "phantom" zoning can be seen inside some of the Fluorite crystals, which are virtually WATER CLEAR. It's difficult to obtain pieces of this quality with such excellent aesthetics and balance. The piece displays wonderfully as you can see, and it really stands out as a fine example from this famous mine. Valued $4,000.
From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#621 C), a well-known German collector all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started collecting seriously at the age of 14 and his great and varied worldwide collection reached over 6000 pieces. He was very active mineralogically until shortly before his passing in 2020 at the age of 82. Considering his collection had a large number of pieces, it still had an unusually high standard of quality from most worldwide localities. He particularly specialized in all classics as well as minerals of the Black Forest, where he spent much time collecting. His Black Forest and German subcollections went to his good friend Wolfgang Wendel. We at The Arkenstone have the privilege of offering the remainder of this great worldwide collection over the next two to three years through our various platforms.