Fluorite (stalactitic growth) (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

This is a strange Fluorite specimen from an unlikely locality in Colorado. Wagon Wheel Gap is actually the type locality for Creedite (named for the town of Creede nearby), but good Fluorites from this area are seldom seen. This piece is unusually in its form as a group of tiny intergrown purple cubes have grown in a stalactitic formation. I can't honestly remember seeing on of these before with this particular style of growth. The piece comes with a label from Mineralogical Research Co. that states it fluoresces a violet color under SW UV light, but we couldn't see it. There's a mild fluorescence under LW UV light, but that's about it. The label also says the piece phos fluoresces, but perphaps you need a very strong UV light to see it. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#10748). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record).