Fluorite (pink and green bi-color) on Muscovite

Item Description

A classic example of the famous Chumar Bakhoor Fluorites, which are some of the finest pegmatitic Fluorites you'll find from any locality. These crystals are often large, gemmy and colorful (even bi-colored!), and are usually found on matrix, which makes for some great presentable specimens. This piece features a wonderful pink and green bi-colored, modified octahedral crystal of Fluorite measuring 5.3 cm at its longest dimension, aesthetically perched atop bladed, silvery-golden colored Muscovite on host rock matrix. There is a lovely little "sidecar" crystal of Fluorite on the lower portion of the piece with a gentle baby pink hue and high transparency. The main Fluorite is rather gemmy itself, and it just glows with color when backlit. The lower front edge of the main Fluorite group has a contact that isn't completely noticeable until you look at the correct angle, but the rest of the front of the crystal is in great shape. A beautiful big example of these gorgeous and unique Fluorites. I would put a value of about $2,000-$2,500 retail on this one. This piece comes to us from the legendary Ron Romanella (February 28, 1932 - October 24, 2022), a well-known gem and mineral dealer from New York City. He studied mineralogy at Columbia School of Mines, and he was mentored by Dr. Frederick Pough of the American Museum of Natural History, and learned about the business side from well-known mineral dealers Hugh Ford and Maurice Hammoneau. Ron himself was a mentor to other successful East Coast mineral dealers such as Larry Conklin, Herb Obodda and even employed Dave Wilber for a time. He largely transitioned out of selling minerals as his business focused more on gems for the last few decades, and his sons Michael and Jerry have been running the family business in Scottsdale for many years now. With that said, Ron was one of the great powerhouse mineral dealers in the US for many years, offering fine quality specimens and gem crystals from classic and contemporary localities. Among his top achievements, is that Ron is credited with importing the first known crystals of Tanzanite into the US in the 1960s.