FLUORITE WITH BARYTE

ABOUT THE SPECIMEN

Large plate of cubic fluorite with colors ranging from honey gold to a deep reddish purple. The crystals really glow and pop out with the golden hue when lit up directly. Around much of the sides is a band of well-formed cream to yellow baryte crystals that balance out the front. Very nice sample from a very renowned German locality!

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Worked intermittently during the 18th century for silver and cobalt, then briefly in 1832-1837, the Bergmännisch Glück Mine became known among collectors for contemporary fluorite specimen finds discovered long after operations ceased. Two vugs opened in 2005 via the Frisch Glück adit yielded the celebrated "Rainbow Fluorite" - cubic crystals reaching 3-4 cm with amber-yellow cores grading through blue lattice-like phantoms to purple zones, particularly vivid when backlit. Golden prismatic baryte crystals occasionally accompany the fluorite, showing distinctive "whistle" terminations and yellow fluorescence under longwave UV while fluorite fluoresces purple. The hydrothermal veins formed during Mesozoic tectonics (~121 Ma based on regional Rb-Sr ages), considerably younger than the Variscan polymetallic sulfide veins that dominated mining in neighboring Freiberg and Annaberg districts. What distinguishes Bergmännisch Glück is the extraordinary color zoning quality and optical clarity rivaling classic Wölsendorf material. Production remains extremely limited through hobbyist collecting, making specimens scarce despite the recent finds establishing this as a premier European fluorite locality.