Fluorite (GEM quality) (ex Paul Zerfass Collection)

Xianghualing Mine (Hsianghualing Mine), Xianghualing Sn-polymetallic ore field, Linwu Co., Chenzhou Prefecture, Hunan Province, China
Small Cabinet, 9.8 x 7.3 x 6.7 cm
Start Time: 07/13/2017 6:30:00 pm (CDT)
End Time: 07/20/2017 6:45:00 pm (CDT)
Auction Closed

Item Description

For all the Fluorite specimens that have come out of China, this a rather attractive Fluorite specimen featuring sharp, WATER-CLEAR, (almost ice-like) lovely soft green color, octahedral crystals with soft graceful surface etching. The specimen displays very nicely from a few angles, and just looks like a pool of liquid green in your hands. Due to the incredible clarity of the crystals, the piece was difficult to photograph, but you can see straight through it when backlit. The largest crystal measures 5.2 cm at its longest dimension. The specimen is not completely undamaged, but it has such great three-dimensional form and clarity that it makes up for the lack of perfection. The piece came labeled as coming originally from the De'an Mine in Jiangxi Province, but it's almost certainly from Xianghualing. From the collection of the long time, beloved, well-known French field collector, Paul Zerfass (Collection #368). Zerfass built this worldwide collection over nearly 50 years, many of which were personally collected. A biography featuring specimens from his collection (along with his face on the cover) is in the May - June 2017 issue of French mineral magazine, Le Regne Mineral. We have a .pdf copy of the article for anybody interested in reading it (though it's mostly in French). Just drop us a line and know that you'd like to have a copy.

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