Detailed information
Species
Fluorite, Calcite
Dimensions
153 x 212 x 95
mm
Weight
2871 g
Locality
Cave-in-Rock Illinois - Kentucky Fluorspar District Hardin Co., Illinois, USA
Condition
No recorded repairs
This rare, larger high quality cabinet-sized Fluorite coated in Calcite from the famous Cave-in-Rock area of the Illinois - Kentucky Fluorspar District makes for an exceptional 'statement' specimen, and with appropriate backlighting is a dramatic, eye-catching piece. Its stunning play of colours is best seen in the video, where its fiery orange interior glows through outer intense purple layers. Comprising three main very large stepped intergrown cubes, its largest cube reaches a phenomenal 10 cm or more in length with distinctive multiply stepped surfaces made up of many smaller cubic crystal faces. These undulations across its surface produce its distinctive dappled zonation in colour when viewed down on the crystals, with tones ranging from violet-purple, through pinks and into yellow-orange hues. The extensive coverage of opaque, slightly etched, cream-coloured scalenohedral Calcite crystals across certain directional faces of the Fluorite does not distract from the colourful beauty of the huge Fluorite crystals, but enhances them, as a contrast and a contextual association for which the Cave-in-Rock mineral deposits are well-known. For its size it is in really fine condition, missing a corner (cleaved) on its centre crystal but otherwise has very minor chipping.