Origin
A mineral often found in veins near hot springs. Ancient Egyptians carved statues from fluorite. Carving has also reached exceptional standards in China for over 300 years.

Sources
Our fluorite mainly comes from Xinjiang (pronounced: 'Zin-shan') in north-west China, with a few specimens coming from other locations, e.g., Mexico and Teesdale.

Our view...
The Chinese carvers love working with multi-coloured Chinese fluorite. However, they suffer huge breakages during carving, explaining the higher prices for bigger, more finely carved pieces.

Our company policy has been to actively promote fluorite. When we first opened it was largely ignored, with high street jewellers rude or ignorant about it – some even mistaking it for amethyst.

We have encouraged silversmiths in Poland and India to work with this stone with some (but not complete) success. It was interesting to watch Indian producers market it once they had got used to its different characteristics.

Crystals (UK) was an early pioneer in promoting a ‘popular market’ and we are very proud of this. The interplay of light in the extraordinary crystal structure and colour variation gives fluorite a feel no other stone enjoys.

Blue John
'Blue John' is the name given to fluorite from Derbyshire, England. This brown hued variety of the stone was extremely popular in Victorian times, and whilst the Derbyshire show caves still make a worthwhile visit, the carved souvenirs rarely use UK material.

Ros Mason – March 2006
© Crystals (UK) Ltd. T/A Crystals Reg. No. 5056864.