Detailed information
Species
Fluorite, Quartz, Calcite
Dimensions
57 x 76 x 50
mm
Weight
144 g
Locality
Nikolaevskiy Mine, Dal'negorsk Kavalerovo Mining District Primorskiy Kray, Far-Eastern Region, Russia
Condition
No recorded repairs
Nikolaevskiy mine at Dal'negorsk in the far east of Russia is renowned for its water clear Fluorite crystals, some which are perfect cubes, others modified dodecahedrons. This very large miniature specimen comes from the renowned Fluorite collection of Arvid Pasto, author of the book, Collector's Guide to Fluorite. It features several colourless Fluorite crystals on Quartz-Calcite matrix, the most prominent of which is a 2.8 cm diameter modified dodecahedron. However, one of the smaller crystals displays a fine heart-shaped form, possibly a twin. When these colourless Fluorites from Nikolaevskiy mine started to appear in the mineral markets during the 1990s their quality shocked the world, but the supply was short-lived. It has even been claimed that most were mined during the 1980s and released later, in the 1990s. This one is a fine smaller display piece, with great complexity to its crystal form.