Quartz ''casts'' after Calcite on multicolor Fluorite

Item Description

A fine quality display specimen from the Xiefang Mine featuring sparkling white Quartz crystals which originally had overgrown preexisting scalenohedral Calcite crystals, but a solution of some sort entered the pocket and etched/leached away the Calcites, leaving hollow "casts" (sometimes called epimorphs/perimorphs depending on who you talk to) which are sitting atop a matrix of translucent richly colored green, blue and purple Fluorite showing cubic and dodecahedral faces. Select cube faces of some of the Fluorite crystals have a deposition of golden metallic Pyrite for a really nice accent. When you flip the piece over, you'll notice that the Fluorite is actually CRYSTALLIZED all over on the back, so the piece is largely crystallized on all sides! Very good condition overall, with only slight damage and it's quite showy. These specimens are not terribly common from Xiefang, and were found in the late 2000s-early 2010s. A great piece for any fans of "casts"/pseudomorphs or minerals of China. Valued $2,000.
From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#585 C), 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 for the coming months/years through our various platforms.