Brazil067 - Fluorapatite on Albite - Sapo Mine, Ferruginha, Conselheiro Pena, Doce Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Alvaro Lucio and his son Eduardo are two of my favorite people at Tucson. They are invariably gracious, very knowledgable, and have some of the finest Brazilian specimens available. This year, they had several excellent specimens of apatite from the Sapo Mine and Golconda. I selected three of the purple from Golconda and one vibrant blue from Sapo.

The color of the crystals in this Sapo specimen is outstanding. If I were describing a tourmaline, I would use "Paraíba" to describe it! Instead, I will just call it a rich, vibrant blue. The contrast with the white albite is very aesthetic. The largest crystal is 1.4 cm across and is quite gemmy. I count at least 26 crystals visible without magnification. All are in excellent shape. 6.0 x 5.9 x 2.2 cm.