Fluorapatite

An elongated miniature displaying vivid violet, gemmy crystals of Fluorapatite covering a thin Quartz plate averaging about 5 mm thick. The specimen is from Greifenstein in Saxony, Germany, a tin bearing greisen deposit within granite pegmatites, set in the heart of a densely forested area. The beautifully coloured Fluorapatite crystals extend across the entire top surface, forming hexagonal prisms with flat pinacoids. The crystals display two habits, one as regular, equal sized hexagonal prisms, the other with alternating broad and narrow faces to the hexagon. This rather charming miniature comes with a Dr A. Krantz (Bonn) label.