FLUORITE

ABOUT THE SPECIMEN

From finds in the 1980's, this is a marvelously rich fluorite specimen from this ancient Catalonian locality. End to end, it's covered with lightly frosted, mint-green octahedral crystals measuring up to 1cm - a large crystal dimension for the locality - which are nicely spread out atop the host rock, allowing their individual forms to stand out. They also display brilliant UV reactivity, shining a deep purple under exposure. Any wear present is, in our opinion, very forgivable considering the excellent overall display quality for the locality.

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Hydrothermal F-Pb-Zn veins at Berta Quarry formed through two mineralizing events - Triassic-Jurassic rifting and Miocene extension - cutting Hercynian (Variscan) granodiorite. Unlike the cubic blue and purple fluorites famous from Asturias, Berta produced distinctive octahedral crystals in saturated green colors ranging from apple-green to emerald, typically reaching 8-12 mm with glassy to semi-matte luster. Specimens from "old" levels in sericitized granodiorite show deeper color saturation, while material from lower levels on fresh gray granite matrix generally displays paler hues. The crystals commonly associate with quartz, calcite, galena, sphalerite, and pyrite, fluorescing intensely under long-wave UV. What makes Berta significant is its status as Catalonia's premier fluorite locality and Spain's only major source for octahedral green fluorite - a morphology and color combination not replicated elsewhere in the country. The quarry closed in 2003 when aggregate operations ceased, and the site is now undergoing restoration with mineral extraction permanently prohibited, making authentic specimens increasingly scarce among Spanish collectors.