FINE FLUORESCENT SPHERE. ...

Description

FINE FLUORESCENT SPHERE
Sterling Mine
Sterling Hill, Ogdensburg, New Jersey, USA
Collectors of fluorescent minerals prize those that are brightest under ultraviolet light; even more so specimens with multiple species fluorescing different colors. This expertly carved and highly polished 9-inch sphere exhibits both qualities in good measure. An added feature is its size; made from a large block from the 340 ft level of the famous Sterling Mine it is the 2nd largest sphere known to exist from this locality and assemblage, and is certainly the finest. A little more than half of this globe features an equigranular speckled sea of black franklinite, tan willemite and cream-colored calcite; the other hemisphere resembles a continent comprised of remarkable, euhedral crystals of willemite in calcite matrix, a classic assemblage from the Franklin, New Jersey mines. Like Cinderella being transformed from a pauper to a princess; these patterns - attractive even under normal lighting conditions - just blaze to life under shortwave light and spring to life in vibrant red and green, a remarkable phenomenon that is observable in only a handful of minerals, the most impressive of which are found in this region of New Jersey. The deposit in the mine responsible for this material is no longer accessible; making the present specimen the last of its kind.

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