COLLECTING...

 

Fluorite has alwas fascinated humans. Indeed, the large number of colors and also the diversity of crystallizations make fluorite as an entire part of a collection. But, your look can go to others minerals... This page has not the target to give lessons. But, it only  wants to share a passion for minerals with young collectors. Hesitations due to the beginning of a collection can appear and it's why we suggest some ideas that will help you in your search:

1) the constitution of a collection :
It can be made by different ways: you can collect all the minerals, without restriction (if it's not money), and you can choose your specimens according your heart during visit of mineralogical stock exchange... It's often how people begin.

Day after day, month after month, the quantity of specimen increase in your display cabinet, your signht is refining, your unconscious is making chooices and is guiding the conscious. So, you take off specimens became unworthy of interest,, in order to replace them by others. The wish of a thematic collection can appear (if it's not done since the beginning). So, you can collect fluorites, or calcites...etc. It is a thematic based on one specy, but the choice can also be about a country (England, Brazil...), see a partcular site (the site of Tsumeb-Namibie) the minerals of the Minas Gerais-Brésil, ...). The size of the minerals can also be an other factor. After you got your glass magnifying until 100x, approximately, your choices will be for very small samples, not really expensive and in which crystallizations are prefect... but invisible to human eye.

Finally, the standard "minerals found at home" can be given. You make a collection of specimens found by yourself... the only problem is that the research is not easy, because, even if the mineralogical inheritance is impotant in our country, the access to the sites of minerals is more and more difficult (closing of mines, private sites...). Foreign countries still leave a door opened on new discoveries... 

To conclude this paragraph, we have to say that having pieces with a good quality requires a lot of patience, contacts, discussions ...and personal research.

2) An help ?
A minimum of knowledge is necessary in order to have a presentiment of the piece that will enrich your collection. You have not to be a senior specialist. Yet,  in the first time,it's not useless to be with a lover more experimented.

3) Trust your instinct : The nicest piece of your collection is not the more expensive, but certainly, this one you like the most. Only famed specialists invest in a mineral collection. Most of the collectors live their passion,, or their pleasure by getting "the specimen" for which they have an heart click. Visiting collections (private or museum collections) can only enrich...

4) Attraction for the "new"...
It's not a reason to be abused when you see a new unique specimen. Allright, a nice specimen has a commercial value but you have not to pay any price. It is probable that other minerals with the same origine will appear during the next months...so, patience can pay in some case. Only the chance then the routine will guide you.                
In exchange gallery, torbernite specimens from Margabal are presented: during the discovery of these cristallizations, prices increased. Now, they are decreasing. And we can think that the fall will go on... It will be possible if new discoveries of specimens with a such quality were found.  However, due to the building site, the difficulty for the progress of the works... the probability is very low. Yet, chinese green fluuorite specimens can see their price increase from a stand to another one: mines are still in activity and discoveries take place each day... But what about the specimen of exception...? s

Stock exchanges can give you an idea of the commercial value of fluorite that can enrich your collection. The most of the time we give an estimation because commercial price can be naturally higher. A commercial marge is done.

But it exists exceptions. Lastly, chinese fluorite appeared in different mineralogical stock exchanges. The most spectacular one had 40cm of diameter, and was composed of blue crystals, gemmes... and intacts. A real specimen of museum. its price was about 20 000 euros.
Just one question to ask: shall i buy it and not buy other pieces during x years, being sure to no see it later? Of course, everything depends on financial possibilities, but this exemple can be translated for other pieces at a lower price.

5) Specimens to choose : We have not to forget that each stone is unique. Consequently, the estimation cannot be substitued to the specificity of a similar stone: shape, size, purety, aesthetics and association with others minerals... are elements that can sometimes change a price in very important ratio. These standards can refine with time... Some "purists" will be interested in crystals in which you can find the shape and the color are disappointing: be careful because you can have in front of you a systematicist This last one will look for all the pieces representative of a mine in order to have an exhaustive sight of the richness of the site (ex: Berbes, asturies - Spain - delivered cristallizations of fluorite of all qualities: from purple "amethyst", to the very light pink where the sides are corroded...).

6) The litterature about the subject
In spite of fluorite has always interested collectors, the litterature stays limited in this field.

The "paper" editions  :
Spathfluor.com is not only there in order to represent the book about the mine and minerals found in Valzergues. It's there in order to insist on the fact that you will also find for what this fluorite was used.

The BRGM report of Jean Féraud can also bring multiple knowledges about the subject.

Internet... :
Numerous are the websites dealing of this nice mineral. Some of them are presents in the links (selection).

Spathfluor is not only the transcription of a passion, the website and the book of Valzergues are also windows opened as big as possible on the  wonderful world of minerals and the sharing of knowledge.

Mineralogy and mining tools are compatible...