Description
Every mineral is a story of chemistry, pressure, and patience. Apatite is the mineral of bones and teeth — literally: hydroxyapatite makes your skeleton. The gem-quality fluorapatite from Mexico’s Cerro de Mercado (which translates, beautifully, as Hill of the Market) shows rich blue-green colors and well-formed hexagonal prisms that belie its position in the phosphate group.
This specimen originates from Cerro de Mercado, Durango, Mexico, one of the world’s most significant localities for this type of material. Collectors and scientists have drawn from this region for generations, and for good reason: the combination of geological conditions here produces specimens of exceptional quality and clarity.
Every specimen is unique. Photographs approximate the visual experience, but the real thing — its weight, its luster under a raking light, the way it catches the corner of your eye — can only be experienced directly.
