Fluorite balls india

hi, i often seen fluorite balls with chalcedony or zeolites matrix from nashik , india on ebay .i want to buy one but i seen blue and red ones and think they look dyed .for me only white ones and maybe yellow ones look real. someone know if they are really dyed or not ?the blue and red color seem to dark to be real.this kind of white botryoidal fluorite seem easy to be placed in a kind of dying agent who dont coloured the chalcedony matrix .bye



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2012 09:49PM by Yanick Beaudet.

They are not dyed, but they are oiled. They are pretty ugly without the oil.

thank you Rob. . it is a permanent oilling treatment or it's just for the picture?. i think i will buy a small one to begin and check later for a big specimen. bye

When you are talking about fouorite balls it is not clear if you mean some natural mineral formation or spheres that have been cut and polished and made from fluorite. Can you supply a picture of what you are talking about or explain it better?

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

I have had and sold many of these-- they are not dyed, and not all are oiled. There are actually a few different surface types, particularly with the reds. The best (in my opinion) are those with smooth waxy lusters (not oiled). I read somewhere that these are a fluorite/ opal mixture. Some reds are translucent, with bumpy surfaces (not typically oiled either), and still others have black cores with reddish rinds. Very rarely there are bright orange examples as well.

The dark red/ maroon pieces are the ones to watch out for, they are most frequently oiled. When you remove the oil, the hemispheres look pale pink or whitish, and they have a crumbly texture. It seems that the spheres occasionally have a natural coating of something else, which the Indians use physical means to remove... they end up damaging the fluorite and try to hide it with oil. These are a total waste of money.

Blue I have not seen-- only green and purple.

hi Rock .im talkink about botryoidal fluorite on chalcedony or zeolite matrix from india .they are often call fluorite balls on ebay.i dont think a ball on matrix can be manmade. the one you talking about are man carved sphere of fluorite and have no interest to me.. im talking about half sphere on matrix.i cannot post a picture cause i dont own one but you can see some here on mindat in the fluorite gallery from Nashik quarry , Nashick district Maharashtra India . sorry for the misunderstood.bye



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2012 05:05AM by Yanick Beaudet.

Red botroydal balls of fluorite from India, that are in my collection, seem both dyed and oiled to me!

My specimen is standing near a hot lamp. The color of the balls became very pale, slightly rose instead of deep red before. Sheen is also gone. Thay are now dull. It took long, several months or so, however the lamp is not always turned on.
Red fluorite balls seem to cost more on the market. My word, they do not worth it. Now will buy them only for the same price as yellow ones.

My experience with these is not so good. I have attached a pic of a small specimen purchased to "experiment" with these. One pic is as seen on the internet (Saicrystagem), the other is as seen when my son received it. Oiled or water, regardless, the luster and color have surely disappeared during shipping from India.

As well you need to be very careful with these. They are often polished which is often denied by dealers. This can be seen quite easily when looking at the base of the "ball". The crystals, in the matrix, are often broken at the base of the ball.

Just be cautious.

Cheers

Jean

thank you. i bought a brigth yellow one for 5$ and 20,00$ shipping just to verify before to buy a biggest one.i will let you know about my experience when i will receive it. bye

hi , i receive my specimen .i see no sign of any kind of treatment but the fluorite colour are paler than what i seen in the picture when i bought it .probably a touch of photoshop in the picture. i dont think i will buy a red one next time . im really not sure than red botryoidal fluorite can really be found in india.last years i order a bag of more than 100 floaters of red-orange fluorite from china but what i received it's a bag of sphalerite crystal . i think i never seen a real specimen of red fluorite and i beging to think than it's not a natural colour at all for fluorite.the only nearest thing i seen it's cherry red villiaumite.bye

Red fluorite does exist, albeit they're rare.
[pages.ebay.com]
[www.exceptionalminerals.com]
I have also seen faceted red fluorite from Brazil. I have a couple myself bought at an Australian gem show from a very reputable dealer/ gemologist.
Here's another:
[www.mindat.org]
However, I have not seen the rough gemmy material or crystals from which they're cut.

thank you for the infos . i ask infos about red fluorite from France on a french minerals forum. i learn than this red colour of the fluorite came from a rich iron concentration as chromophore agent maybe hematite or goethite, recently new red fluorite pocket had been found around Chamonix and in some others locations in France . i will search for a specimen than i can acquired. I take a look at the numerous specimens and localities available for fluorite in France and im very impressing by the the beauty, variety and shape of the specimens i seen. i think i will add a couple of fluorite specimens from France to my collection. bye

I am a fluorite specialist living in New Jersey and as many, was also wanting to add a red botryoidal fluorite specimen from India-HOWEVER, after conversing with a dealer from the region in Nasik, found that many of the red balls have mirco quartz on them which is ground off and the the specimen is oiled. The oiling will fade over time and the color will fade as well. Be very careful in any purchase-ask the dealer questions.

KC