Green Fluorite?

Okay, I'm here to bug everyone again. I guess I'm moving down the mineral ladder, Fluorite.

Attached is a specimen tagged as Fluorite that I'm interested. Once again, I'm checking with you guys if this is accurate. Also, what would something like this be worth? It's about 25x20 cm.

Thanks!

Roy

Good afternoon Roy - can you tell us where the Flourite is from? That would help with the value. Secondly is the color in the Photo accurate or has it been Photoshopped?

Danny Jones

and another question from me... please confirm the size - cm or mm?

Fluorite is one of easiest minerals to recognize, because the cubic or octahedral shape of crystals.
If that one is fluorite (could be) is hard to recognize due to his low quality, sorry Roy.
Here some medium quality green fluorites to compare:

7 x 7 x 5 cm.
Ganzhou Prefecture, Jiangxi Province, China.



6,5 x 4,2 x 4 cm.
Rogerley Mine, Frosterley, Weardale, North Pennines, Co. Durham, England, UK


Josele



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/2012 01:39AM by Jose Zendrera.

To me, it looks like a piece from China. It also looks like it has been sprayed with oil or silicone to improve its appearance, but I could be wrong. John S.

Hi Danny, sorry I forgot where they said it was from, does that matter much? To me the most important is that I know it's actually fluorite and not a fake (if that's possible). No photoshop, snapped it with my iPhone and it didn't feel oily, John, but anything's possible I guess. The color is prettty close to the photo, pretty much what attracted me to this piece.

Maggie, dimensions are in cm, not mm.

Hi Jose, can you explain why this piece would be considered low quality? I thought it was one of the better ones with deep color and clean shape. Worth?

Thank you.

Roy

Roy, there is many characteristics involved to define the quality of a specimen, some are objective and others are subjective.
Between objective reasons:
- Size of crystals. Size crystals must be compared to usual size of crystals in this specie. I mean, a 5 cm fluorite crystal is a big one, and same size in a quartz crystal is normal or even small.
- Quality of crystals. Here we have to consider crystal definition: faces, edges and vertex must be flat, straight and sharp respectively, always compared to standards in the specie.
- Gemmyness, translucence, color and inclusions.
- Crystals position relating whole specimen.
- ...(probably I forget many things)
Subjective reasons:
Obviously, this depends of personal prefereances, taste and interest for the specie, and can not be measured in absolute manner.
Perhaps this helps, but the better way to have good criteria is to see many specimens from many locations, and this takes some time. You are in the way, keep like this!
Greetings.



Josele



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/2012 01:20PM by Jose Zendrera.

Thank you for taking the time to explain Jose. So for this specimen roughly 25x20x20 cm, what would be the ballpark value? I want to know if I should put it into consideration. I haven't been able to locate any good sized fluorites like this one.

Roy

I would not put a price on your fluorite, but I can give some examples of medium / good quality specimens:

27 x 15 x 12 cm. From somewhere in China. I bough for gift including wood base and paid 88 USD (+ shipment).


23 x 22 x 17 cm. From Asturias, Spain. It was offered for 240 USD, I did not bought, but the price seemed fair, it's good quality, some cubes are >5 cm.


12 x 9 x 6,5 cm. Two generation fluorite. I bough for 42 USD (+ shipment).


First and third from Chinese dealers in e-bay, second in a local mineral fair.
I hope this helps.
Greetings.

Josele

Your fluorite is a very good color and if you have not seen it in person I would suspect that the color may have been enhanced in photoshop and perhaps the specimens is probably oiled. Most specimens from China are. The fluorite is poorly crystallized so it gets no points in that direction. A lot of its value would depend on just how transparent the fluorite is. If it has a lot of cutting potential, that would boost the value considerably, but it is not possible to tell from the photograph about this. Perhaps something in the $500 retail range might be OK, but there are factors that I can't resolve from the photo.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Wow, those are really nice Jose and great deals! Any chance the blue one is still available? I think I'm spending way too much time and coming up empty. I'm shocked on the difference in price levels and you guys have given me a whole new perspective on the value of these minerals. Much appreciate your help Jose, thank you all.

Roy

Thanks Rock, I had no idea that sharper edges meant better crystallization till this post. I'm learning as I go along... I saw this piece and took the photos myself w/iPhone so the color is good. Maybe it was oiled so it was darker than normal? I think I'll pass on this one as well because their asking price is way off your estimates and what Jose paid for his!

Roy

Sometimes it is almost impossible to say what a specimen is worth from a photograph. Just too many things you can't see. It would not surprise me that the asking price could be as high as $5000. Often the price seems to be what ever the imagination of the seller thinks someone might pay for it. In the future if you want an estimate of the price you should make your post in the Moneygrubbers forum.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Hahaha, you must be psychic Rock! 5 grand is exactly what they're asking for and I feel like a total sucker for considering it.

Roy

Hi Roy,

A little more info to digest. One thing to know is that location is very VERY important for mineral valuation and collecting.
Notice the big difference in price between Jose's Chinese fluorites and the Spanish one.

If you have ever had any other collections the same princples apply:

1) condition - quality of specimen (size, definition), also is it original, enhanced/fake

2) location - some locations are known for top quality specimens, historical significance (eg Type location) or are closed and no longer producing

3) scarcity - how easy is it to obtain?

These factors all contribute to the value of a specimen for sale or resale.

regards,
stephanie

Thanks Stephanie, trying to digest all this and it has not been kind to my stomach. lol

Think it boils down to either being an expert with a wealth of knowledge or being an amateur with simply wealth.

Roy

I am not totally convinced that the specimen in question is really fluorite. Could it be green glass slag??? My concerns: looking closely at the specimen surface shows (to me) no flat crystal or cleavage surfaces. In a large, non-crystallized fluorite specimen I might expect to see some evidence of a flat sharp angle and/or cleavage area. Look at all the other true fluorite pix offered in this post.....every one has sharp angles, crystal edges, internal fractures or cleaves. The surface of the specimen in question seems "granulated" and has too much rounding off in many edges and corners; just no good angles or cleavage edges. If it would have a conchoidal broken appearance in any area, that might help with a glass slag id. Also, the color seems just too uniform. I am skeptical until more convinced that this is real and not just green glass CHEERS.....BOB

Would a glass slag have inclusions? There are plenty here. Also, wouldn't glass have a lot more clarity? Then again, what do I know.

Roy

Minpex, if you can make more and better photos, for sure we will clear this matter.
Greetings.

Josele

Well, unless they give me an offer I can't refuse, I'm probably going to pass on this one. So I won't be seeing this specimen anytime soon or if ever if it gets sold to someone else. But frankly, it didn't look or feel like glass to me with inclusions and internal fractures all visible. The color is not uniform all around. The center is darker and the backside is a lot lighter (whitish). Regardless, that probably doesn't give it much points.

I much rather have that blue one now Jose. lol

Roy