Fluorite (rich color)

Item Description

The Okorusu Mine in Namibia is one of the most well-known Fluorite producing localities in the world, yielding a good amount of fine quality specimens, in virtually ever color of the rainbow. This is a wonderful cabinet sized display specimen from a small pocket from the late 1990s produced these stellar specimens with one of the most vivid color combinations you'll find for the locality or species in general. This wonderful group of robust cubic crystals shows a strong purple hue on the exterior, but when they are backlit, a wonderful fiery orange hue can be seen, and when the two colors are combined, you get one of the most alluring mixtures of color you could ask for in a Fluorite. The crystals on the specimen are in excellent condition, and the only damage is the roughness around the periphery where the piece was separated from the pocket wall. The Fluorites measure up to 1.0 cm across, and their excellent internal gemminess allows them to really glow when backlit. I've seen a good amount of Okorusu Fluorites over the years, but this particular pocket has always stood out to me as one of the most distinctive and enticing discoveries at this prolific locale. Valued at $2,500 range for its wonderful quality and coloring. For reference, Kurt's collection catalogue mentioned that this piece had "Anlauffarben" = tarnish, but it's obviously not a direct translation as the surface isn't actually tarnished, but instead has a slight iridescence.
From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#63 SA), a well-known German collector all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started collecting seriously at the age of 14 and his great and varied worldwide collection reached over 6000 pieces. He was very active mineralogically until shortly before his passing in 2020 at the age of 82. Considering his collection had a large number of pieces, it still had an unusually high standard of quality from most worldwide localities. He particularly specialized in all classics as well as minerals of the Black Forest, where he spent much time collecting. His Black Forest and German subcollections went to his good friend Wolfgang Wendel. We at The Arkenstone have the privilege of offering the remainder of this great worldwide collection over the next two to three years through our various platforms.