Fluorapatite (rare locality specimen) (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

Specimens of Fluorapatite from the Akzhaylyautas Mountains are few and far between, and haven't been found in about 20 years, as the last specimens came out around 1998. This piece is a great example of the material featuring a sharp, well-formed, notably lustrous, gemmy, hexagonal prism with attractive pyramidal modifications near the pinacoid. It's in good shape overall, with a bit of roughness on the termination and a spot near the base where it was removed from the pocket wall. It's actually nearly transparent in areas, but the most interesting aspect to me is that the piece shows a color change from a soft pinkish hue to a golden-straw color in sunlight. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#1113). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017).