Fluorite (gemmy bi-colored crystals)

Item Description

This specimen is labeled as coming from Buron (Burón), Asturias, Spain, but Burón is actually in the autonomous community of Castile and León, and the Fluorites from Burón do not look like this. My guess is that it's likely from Berbes. With that said, this beautiful small cabinet display specimen is a classic example of these gorgeous Fluorites featuring a pair of good-sized, gemmy cubic crystals with distinct dodecahedral modifications along the edges, measuring up to 3.8 cm showing a combination of a beautiful blue color in the center with a purple shade on the periphery, sitting atop a partial crystal of Calcite, creating a showy overall piece. The color is best seen in sunlight, as both the blue and purple hues are more saturated, but they do shift to more of a pastel shade in warmer temperature indoor lighting. A splendid and alluring piece of these famous Fluorites.
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 1700. Jack was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the world encompassing over 3,200 specimens with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece. He admired specimens of all sizes from thumbnails to large cabinets and the vast majority of them rank from fine to world-class in their quality.
Above all else, Jack is considered to be the greatest gentleman in the modern era of mineral collecting. He is beloved by all those who have met him, and he truly is one of the most iconic figures in the mineral world. We recently acquired Jack's collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality pieces for their collections. We are honored to have the opportunity to offer Jack's treasures to everyone on a regular basis in the auctions.
We encourage you to read our blog post at https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection or his profile on the Mineralogical Record website https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/halpernjack/ for more information