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Natural Fluorite
Fluorite is calcium fluoride (CaF2) and one of the most colorful minerals on Earth, occurring in purple, green, blue, yellow, pink and colorless, often with several colors banded in one crystal. With a Mohs hardness of 4 it is soft for a gemstone, so faceted fluorite is mostly a collector's stone.
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Gemstone guide
Natural Fluorite
About fluorite
Fluorite gave its name to fluorescence, because many fluorite crystals glow under ultraviolet light, often blue or violet. It defines 4 on the Mohs hardness scale, and it is an important industrial mineral, used to make hydrofluoric acid and as a flux in steelmaking. It forms cubes and octahedrons, and fine crystals come from China, Mexico, England, Spain and many parts of Africa.
What you'll find in this collection
This collection holds natural, untreated fluorite from Africa, faceted to show its color, including green to orange stones of about 4 carats.
How to recognise fluorite
Fluorite has perfect cleavage in four directions, so it splits into octahedrons, and it is singly refractive with a low refractive index of about 1.43, which gives faceted stones a soft, glassy look. Color zoning in bands or cubes is typical, and many specimens fluoresce under UV light. It is easily scratched by quartz, which separates it from harder gems of similar color.
Caring for fluorite
Fluorite is soft and cleaves easily, so it is best kept for pendants, earrings and collections. Protect it from knocks and sudden temperature changes, clean it only with lukewarm water and a soft brush, and keep strongly colored pieces out of long direct sunlight.
Every stone is natural, and each listing gives its weight, size, origin and treatment, with photos of the actual stone.