“Cassy, Happy Birthday!”, the moment I looked into the gift box, I AWE for long......omg, it’s a fluorite crystal! I was eight when I first experienced a “crystal-awe” until I saw it for the first time. Since then, my father allowed me to observe his work in his office and to learn from there.
Come on!! Who doesn’t like fluorite?! It’s the world’s most colorful mineral due to its enormous range of brilliant and iridescent colors it displays. Amongst the so many localities, I love those from the now famous deposit which yield less than 5 collector quality pieces per year – the Yaogangxian Mine in Hunan Province, China. Why? Look at the pictures! No matter what color and crystal habit you’re after, Yaogangxian’s fluorite has it all! A classic Yaogangxian piece, I would say, is usually associated with other minerals like quartz, pyrite, tungsten, mica and calcite. Yaogangxian Mine is located 30 kilometers outside Yizhang County in Hunan Province, China and has been in operation since 1914 when a significant Tungsten deposit was discovered in that area.
Fluorite was originally referred to as fluorspar by miners. Its name comes from the use of fluorite as a flux to lower the melting point in steel and aluminum processing. Fluorite is a relatively soft stone with a Mohs hardness of 4. The rarest colors are red, pink, blue and colorless although colorless fluorite is only prized by collectors for its rarity not attractiveness.
I love fluorite because of its striking appearance not the healing properties. I do not meditate with fluorite but whenever I look at a good piece I feel peaceful and calm. There are plenty of things to worry about, and that’s even before you’ve turned on the news. Life isn’t going to slow down for you or me, but it doesn’t mean we can’t find peace and joy in our journey, and that’s exactly what I’m doing, right now, at this moment of my life :D
Life is short, embrace it!