Fluorite with phantoms, and Dolomite

Item Description

This is a spectacular fluorite from the single most famous Chinese mine, period, and one of the best locations on the planet for beautiful mineral specimens. It is a fluorite of the old style, with complicated shape and symmetry, enhanced by subsurface patterning of lines and phantoms that are incredibly difficult to convey in a photo, so please also see the video. The color is green with purple highlights in the phantom zones, and actually is better in the native room light under fluorescents, than in LED or fancy halogen lamps for photography. In other words, it looks radically different in color between some lighting systems, and natural room light is surprisingly the best to view it in (or dimmed LED). The colors are subtle, and the patterning within really makes it look dramatic from the front angle, as shown here. It has accents of sparkly little dolomite "balls" to add contrast. The piece is exceptionally glassy and lustrous, and nearly pristine (only a few very minor dings). It was one of Fran's larger purchases, and in the early 2000s, from dealer Daniel Trinchillo in the heyday of Chinese exports. In person, even for those who already have many Chinese fluorites, this one is UNIQUE...which is why he used his limited budget on this, instead of a more typical style for an example.