Fluorite (Elmwood)

FLUORITEElmwood MineCarthage, Smith Co. Tennessee3.5 x 5.3 x 1.54 Inches 9 x 13.5 x 4 CentimetersCabinet Check out this beautiful Fluorite from the famous Elmwood Mine - It is such a dark purple it appears to be black without backlighting but once you light it up, it glows a beautiful violet color. Older and darker specimens like this were not as desirable as the "light" purple varieties so they are much more rare on the modern marketplace. The dominant crystal measures at 5cm - I choose to photograph it with a vertical orientation but it would present nicely from a few different angles. The entire specimen has great luster across the stepped faces, on the backside there is a small patch of sphalerite. You will also notice there is "freckles" on the faces... Mindat remarks they could be halos around sulfides or some kind of a radioactive reaction.