Fluorite on Quartz ("floater" specimen) (ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection)

Item Description

There are plenty of fine quality Fluorites from Yaogangxian that have been found over the years, but it's quite difficult to get your hands a "floater" specimen like this. This small cabinet specimen features a group of very lustrous, gemmy, soft purple colored cubes of Fluorite measuring up to 1.3 cm on edge which are sitting on a highly compressed / modified group of translucent Quartz crystals. The piece is crystallized all the way around with not sign of matrix or point of attachment, so it's a complete "floater". Small compressed crystals of Calcite along with rhombs of Dolomite and minor Muscovite make for a nice touch. Very hard to accurately photograph and BETTER in person! Valued at $850 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/labels.asp?colid=671&page=1 ) or on Wikipedia.