Description
This is a highly aesthetic specimen from this find at Huanggang – large, prominent white quartz crystals with a covering of blue fluorite crystals from one direction. The quartz crystals are sharp, with little lustre, but prominent bold faces and forms that give the specimen its form and impact. In excellent condition, no damage. This piece has been trimmed with a saw from behind (as oriented in the first photo, which is how I would display it) and has great proportions. Although it looks great from several different viewpoints, I prefer the first one because in this orientation the fluorite crystals are all coating the “top” of the quartz and which looks to me to be the natural orientation, and is also striking.
The fluorites from this find are very dark – photography tends to make them look lighter than they are and I’ve balanced this tone to an appropriate, representative appearance under normal display lighting, and colour-balanced to approximate daylight, with a calibrated monitor (these range dramatically from a blue that verges on warm-blue in daylight – and cool LED – to a violet blue under halogen 50W). This specimen has many small crystals spread about against the white quartz and those crystals show the deep blue colour best.
