Fluorite (rare locality specimen) (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

Fluorite specimens from the Monarch Mine in Arizona are rather hard to find on the market, especially considering the fact that it closed in 1944. This miniature sized specimen hosts a trio of very good sized, sharp, well-formed, textbook octahedral crystals measuring up to 2.5 cm free of matrix. The exterior of the crystals shows the signature stark white hue (presumably caused by a deposition of Quartz) but if you look along the edges you can see multi-colored banding with alternating green and white zones. A bit of orange-brown iron oxide can be seen on the reverse side of the piece, but this is not part of the Fluorite coloring. The largest crystal has a small contact on the lower front corner, where one can see the exposed green Fluorite underneath the white exterior. The Fluorites are not only good quality crystals for the locality, but they are larger than most I've seen from this extinct Cu-Au-Ag fluorspar mine. It's a really interesting specimen for any fan of worldwide Fluorite or Arizona minerals. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#9474). Kay was a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics. She nearly lived 100 years from April 1920 - March 2020. See the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record ( https://www.mineralogicalrecord.com/pdfs/Kay%20Robertson%20Collection.pdf ), and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017.