FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Conor Quinlan]

Hello Everyone,

I am Conor Quinlan and I am new to the mineral-forum with this being my first new topic post. I am very excited to be a part of this community of mineral collectors & contribute!

I am a Fluorite collecting fanatic w/ over (20) unique varieties & would consider the mineral a personal favorite. Nearly a year ago I acquired what I originally thought was a fairly basic fluorite specimen that also housed multiple minerals for a low cost via an online mineral auction.
Images of the specimen online only showed dark navy blue crystalline exteriors along w/ the outline of a some dark central phantoms that were difficult to observe. When I received the piece however I was completely dumbstruck when I discovered the fluorite crystals contained, not just one, but more phantoms than I had ever seen in a single Fluorite specimen before & I live in (Tucson, AZ) where I visit the largest mineral show in the world every year!

The (3) Largest Crystals appear to contain no less than (6) Distinctly Colored Phantoms including:
Blue | Dark Navy | Purple | Yellow | Red! | Green
Even the Smallest Crystals contain Blue, Red & Yellow Phantoms

I couldn’t believe that the vendor, who also excavated this beauty, didn’t notice the incredible array of colors! I can only guess that the vendor simply didn’t have the time or patience to inspect the specimen.

I have been looking for similar specimens ever since without success so I am very curious about it’s true rarity and if anyone has seen/found a similar specimen??

I should point out there is also more to this specimen than the fluorite alone, I originally purchased this specimen because it also exhibits a high diversity of different minerals displaying a total of (5) including: Phantom Fluorite, Calcite, Smokey Quartz, Pyrite & an Unknown Mineral on the front that I'm almost certain (95%) is either Gypsum or Selenite.

I showed this specimen to a couple big mineral vendors I trust during the last (2020) Tucson Mineral Show & they were pretty impressed. One even took a close look to verify it was legitimate w/ no sign of repairs or treatments.

According to the vendor/miner the Specimen Location = “Quanzhou Prefecture Mine” Fujian Province (China).

[Tobi]

Hi Conor and welcome here,

like you, I love fluorite and it is one of my favourite minerals, if not THE favourite! This specimen is really awesome, I don't remember to have ever seen such an incredible rainbow of phantoms in a fluorite crystal!

You say the provided locality is "Quanzhou", the only fluorites I know from there are the famous newer ones from Xia Yang Mine, Yongchun, as you know they are cuboctahedral crystals in green or blue, completely different from your specimen ...

Regards
Tobi

[Conor Quinlan]

That's my thought as well on the locality, I don't see how it resembles much from the prefecture & with the further verification you provided I am sure you're correct but I am certain it from China & likely more specifically a mine near (Donghai, Jiangsu) or (Lianyungang, Jiangsu).
Would love to figure our exactly where this fluorite was sourced one day & I am sure there's got to be someone who knows; hopefully at the next mineral show I can gain more insight!
I get a good amount from China where the proper location isn't provided but that's the price of auction hunting minerals & it is well worth it!
Never thought it was possible to find such rarities online for practically nothing but I've learned differently this past 1.5 years since getting serious with my collecting! I've gone from selling an old collection & having nothing to acquiring over 200+ specimens in my new collection.