Description
Detailed Description
This specimen features a large dark green cube, 3.5 cm on an edge. The fluorite is sharp with good lustre and colour zoning. This piece has a thin veneer of what appears to be a silicate mineral, selectively frosting the piece from one direction, giving great contrast. Strongly fluorescent under UV, as shown in the last photo. The main cube is in excellent condition – tiny chips in a couple of spots. The rest of the piece is in very good condition, but with one spot of damage – it does not stand out as it would if the light silicate frosting was not present, and I would orient this piece on a high display shelf, angled as in the first photograph, at which point that spot is around towards the back. This is a striking piece with the contrast, and the largest high-quality cube of the lot.
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About These Madagascar Fluorites
Discovered in 2017, this Madagascar green fluorite is from Mandrosonoro, Ambatofinandrahana, Amoron’i Mania. The green varies in darkness from specimen to specimen, and the hue is reminiscent of the specimens produced at the Rogerley Mine (Frosterley, Durham, England).
The apparent colour of these fluorite specimens varies depending upon light source – these photos are adjusted to basic daylight, shade (same as all specimen photos on the website), and this is the lighting that brings out their colour the best. However, in actual daylight, these fluorites exhibit varying degrees of fluorescence, from faint to obvious blue (not as strongly as with Rogerley fluorites). Under UV lighting, they fluoresce bright blue-purple.
The Mandrosonoro fluorites are collected by local inhabitants and the quality of the first pieces I saw (in 2018) was very poor. On the whole, the quality of almost all pieces available to date has remained poor with lots of damage – the specimens in this update are of exceptional quality for the find.
