BLUE JOHN - Large and impressive natural specimen - Castleton, Derbyshire
« back'BLUE JOHN' FLUORITE
Impressive natural (unpolished) specimen
Witch's Miller's Vein
Treak Cliff Cavern, Castleton, Derbyshire
A large and impressive piece of Blue John showing the classic colours of yellow and purple. It is a natural unpolished piece exactly as found. It weighs 1.2 kilograms.
Blue John is a banded variety of the mineral fluorite. It is only found in the vicinity of Treak Cliff, near Castleton in Derbyshire. Blue John has been mined for hundreds of years and made into jewelry, bowls, goblets, vases, and numerous other decorative items that are now prized throughout the world.
The origin of the name Blue John is not clear. It is likely that it was a local name given to the stone by the Derbyshire lead miners who already knew the zinc mineral sphalerite by the nickname ‘Black Jack’. This specimen displays well without the need for a stand.
Size: 13 x 10 x 7 centimetres
Weight: 1.2 kilograms