Item description / significance
This is a group of seven fluorite display objects, each on a wooden stand:
- A mostly green polished sphere with a purple stripe (stand can rotate)
- A smooth translucent purple lizard carving
- A rough purple and green lizard carving with white crystals
- A bright green translucent “kryptonite” natural crystal formation
- A sparkly purple natural crystal formation
- A polished slice of purple and green fluorite with white “feathers”
- A purple three-legged “wealth toad” carving
Bought where
in Wuyi, Zhejiang Province, China, in a shop inside a residential complex
Age and origin
basically new, from Wuyi
What I like about them
There are so many kinds of fluorite… each of these pieces has unique characteristics in terms of color, texture, shape, size, and interaction with light, thus they attracted me for different reasons. The polished flat slice is the thing that struck me first, and seemed unique in the shop; the pure bright green crystal caught Siqi’s attention; the sphere has a purely symmetrical shape and smooth texture that minimizes distraction from the stone’s colors; I wanted a piece that showcases chaotic sparkly square crystals; and I wanted at least one animal carving.
Other notes
I bought two lizards even though I usually don’t buy two similar items. The logic is, if I buy two similar things, then I will probably wind up liking one more than the other, and the less-liked one will cause regret by seeming redundant. I decided that the lizards were both spectacular enough, each in its own way, and that I’d regret leaving either of them behind.
See below for more on how we found the shop where I got all this stuff, and photos of the items. In particular, the crystal on the far left really is bright green, though it doesn’t look green at all in the photo above!