Fluorapatite
Posted by: Raymond McDougall on 10.08.2024 | Filed under:

Fluorapatite

Specimen # 103189
Mineral: Fluorapatite
Location: Ipirá, Bahia, Brazil
Size: 2.5 x 1.2 x 1.1 cm

Description

Detailed Description

A super, intense blue bipyramidal crystal of fluorapatite. The crystal has well-developed terminations and sharp, lustrous prism faces. In excellent condition. A very fine thumbnail from Ipirá.

About These Ipirá Fluorapatites

The fluorapatites from Ipirá have been known for many decades and are the most amazing hue of blue – when strongly lit or backlit they can look otherworldly. Unfortunately, they are almost always rounded and damaged, and many are incomplete – I’ve looked through thousands of them over the years and it is almost impossible to find fine specimens! It’s exasperating. (Look at even the published photographs of Ipirá fluorapatites – they usually show very rounded and damaged specimens.) These specimens are remarkable for their sharp crystal form and quality.

Please note:

(1) the crystals are indeed intense blue – they are dark, and the photographs show their appearance with strong enough lighting to see the colour well. In lower light, they are darker.

(2) the colour representation in the still photographs has been carefully calibrated and adjusted to show an accurate rendition of this specimen in daylight (shade). The colours in the video are not similarly adjusted.