White Rock Quarry, Clay Center, Ottawa Co., Ohio, USA
19 cm tall X 22.3 cm wide
Clay center and root beer colored fluorites on white celestine are unique in the world. They are immediately identifiable. The color is unlike any other fluorite locality. The fact that they grew on a beautiful, stark white, and crystallized matrix of celestine only makes them even more spectacular. In the world of fluorite, to be able to say something is totally unique, is quite unusual.
This example is a mountain of sharp celestine with glassy and rich root beer colored fluorite cubes tumbling down. It is amongst the most spectacular fluorites from any locality. It is a very special and treasured specimen.
The quarry opened in the late 1800s and we know fluorite has been mined since at least the 1930s. The two most spectacular examples have always been part of a private collection in California. Both are very different, yet both are considered the finest known examples. We were very fortunate to acquire them both.
This piece was pictured twice in the Mineralogical Record magazine:
2014, Vol. 45, page 731
2017, Vol. 48, page 820