Fluorite (unusually spherical) (ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection)

Item Description

Of the thousands upon thousands of Fluorite localities in the world, the pieces from Mahodari are some of the most distinctive and unique. These unusual, beautiful and interesting botryoidal Fluorite specimens come from a trap rock locality, which is already very unusual for the species, as most people are accustomed to seeing zeolites and associated species from the various trap rocks in India. This particular specimen dates back to the early 2000s. It features a group of unusually botryoidal "balls" of Fluorite perched atop slightly grey Quartz on a very thin layer of matrix. The largest individual sphere measures 2.2 cm across. The Fluorite shows a beautiful golden hue throughout, and they GLOW when the "balls" are backlit. The piece is virtually undamaged and actually looks a bit better in person than the photos might indicate. You rarely seen spherical Fluorite like this from any locality, and these Indian pieces are arguably the best known examples of this rare crystal habit. Priced at $1,400 retail. 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/biographies_labels/smalestephen/ ) or on Wikipedia.