Minerals:  Fluorite
Locality: Touroug-El Hamda Quarries (Lhamda Mine), Melaab Caïdat, Goulmima Cercle, Errachidia Province, Drâa-Tafilalet Region, Morocco
Dimensions: 70mm x 44mm x 26mm
Weight: 99.1g

This is a substantial cabinet fluorite from the Touroug El Hamda Quarries, formed as a rounded cluster of sharp, well pronounced cubes with crystallisation continuing across almost the entire specimen.

In person the colour appears to be predominantly blue, with a cool watery translucency that gives the piece more depth than the photographs suggest. Right along the very edges of the cubes there is delicate lilac zoning, which the camera exaggerates into a much stronger purple. In natural daylight it's considerably more subtle, appearing as a fine lilac margin around the blue interiors.

The size and form are excellent. Rather than presenting as a flat plate, the fluorite develops around the specimen in a full, dimensional cluster with very little matrix visible. The cubes remain crisp and well formed across the front, sides and upper sections, with excellent condition throughout. Minor goethite sits discreetly in a few recesses.

The combination of translucency, cool blue colour and beautifully developed cubic growth gives this piece serious cabinet presence. This is definitely one of those specimens that's far more impressive in hand than the camera quite manages to capture - something I'm sure fluorite lovers will be able to understand.