Fluorite is a wonderful crystal that is found in a huge variety of colours, from striking blues, greens, pinks and purples, to softer clear and yellow shades. Different locations around the world have very distinctive Fluorite varieties, and can be found in cubic form, octahedrons and large chunks without crystal structure visible to the naked eye.

The largest ever Fluorite cube was found in Russia, it weighed 16 tonnes and was 2.12 meters wide. The ancient Egyptians and Chinese carved Fluorite into decorative objects, but generally it was too soft to be used in jewellery as it only ranks as 4 on the Moh's scale of hardness (Quartz is a 7, and Diamond ranks the highest at 10).

The word "fluorescent" actually comes from Fluorite, due to the fluorescent nature of many of the varieties. When Fluorite is pure, it it colourless, it's the impurities in the crystal structure that gives it the wide range of colours. It is named after the Latin word for 'flow', as it melts very easily and has a wide range of industrial uses.

The UK has two famous Fluorite deposits, Blue John Fluorite in Derbyshire is the only place in the world this blue, purple and yellow banded Fluorite is found. The mines in Treak Cliff Cavern are still open to the public for tours, although you sadly can't mine your own! The other famous UK deposit is Rogerley in Weardale, County Durham, which produces stunning green cubic Fluorite that fluoresces blue in daylight. The new Diana Maria mine in Rogerley is producing some incredible specimens at the moment.

Musquiz in Mexico produces a very striking deep purple topped Fluorite, with intriguing etched cubes, whilst beautiful pink octahedron Fluorite is found in Chamonix, France. China produces incredible natural Rainbow Fluorite, which is found in stripes of purple, green, blue, yellow and clear.

As Fluorite is so abundant, there are relatively few fakes around. The exception to this is Fluorite found on cheap sites and apps such as Wish, where many crystals are more commonly faked than real. Resin and glass with dyes are often sent out in place of real crystals, so be careful! The other type of "fake" Fluorite that may be encountered are those that have had their colour changed by radiation. Recently many Chinese "blue" Fluorites have been coming onto the market that are actually pale/clear/green Fluorite cubes that have been irradiated with gamma radiation to turn the crystals a bright blue colour.

In terms of metaphysical properties, Fluorite is a very powerful crystal. It is an excellent grounding crystal and helps boost focus and concentration, so is a great aid to study. It also helps us to deal with complex issues, boosts intuition and aids with psychic awakening. Fluorite helps to protect us against psychic attack whilst balancing and stabilising and balancing our energies and emotions.

See our collection of Fluorite available here.

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