Fluorite on Calcite with Gypsum

Item Description

Glassy and lustrous purple fluorite microcrystals richly cloak 12 dogtooth calcite crystals that dramatically and aesthetically rise above the large matrix plate of translucent tan calcite crystals. Very glassy and lustrous, tabular gypsum crystals are festooned on both the large dog teeth and matrix calcite crystals. The interior appears to be pristine on this striking 360-degree specimen and the minimal bit of periphery wear is certainly a modest detraction. The purple fluorite we see on these, in the past, was both identified (in China and USA) and was sold originally by us and many others as Yttrofluorite, but analyses have shown that there is no measurable Yttrium in at least some of the specimens checked to date recently, and so we include this note here and will simply label these as Fluorite from here on out. See: https://www.mindat.org/mesg-609540.html. Some may have yttrium, but it seems we can no longer conclude they all do, if that matters to you as a collector. A bonus: Modest light orange calcite LW UV fluorescence. This recent find over the last couple of years makes for beautiful and highly sculptural Chinese combination specimens from this well-known location for a huge variety of mineral species and styles. It is an epithermal antimony-gold deposit, and so has a mix of unusual species together, including some that surprise us!