Fluorite (gemmy colorless crystals) with Quartz (ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection)

Item Description

This remote Chinese locality has become a prolific producer of fine quality crystallized specimens. This beautiful small cabinet display specimen hosts, a group of gemmy, colorless, cuboctahedral Fluorite crystals which play host to a beautiful, slightly smoky colored group of scepter habit Quartz crystals aesthetically flaring out of the top of the piece. Minor Sphalerite and Hedenbergite can be seen on the base of the specimen. Overall, the piece is in superb condition, as I cannot find any major damage to the Fluorite group, with the exception of the base of the piece where it was detached from the pocket wall. The piece actually sits quite beautifully on its own without the aid of a base or clay, but it's still precarious, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend displaying it this way. A wonderful and showy example of this gorgeous material. Priced at $1,500 in the inventory. 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.