Fluorite (Elmwood)

FLUORITEElmwood MineCarthage, Smith Co.Tennessee3.3 x 3.9 x 2 Inches 8.5 x 10 x 5 CentimetersCabinetThis is a KILLER specimen of fluorite from the famous Elmwood Mine! There are so many amazing things going on it's hard to know where to start... The color is a beautiful shade of purple but what really blows my mind... the majority of the color is composed of thousands(?) of purple speckles on a mostly clear crystal. The overall shape reminds me of a pixelated cube that is missing pixels where the dissolution occured on the edges. Speaking of dissolution... there are dual carthage corners with the "snow cone or spire" effect on the backside of the specimen. Plus, the entire backside of the former cube is deeply etched leaving behind delicate "spikes" - So unique! I also need to point out that there is very nice zoning in the carthage corners and if you look into the crystal from the right angle you can see a large inclusion of sphalerite or petroleum(?) within. I did my best to capture