A variety of names are used to refer to this stone, including Purple Bertrandite, Opal Fluorite, Purple Passion, Purple Opal, Beryllium Ore, Bertrandite and Tiffany Stone.
This stone comes only from Utah in the USA. In the past it was almost unobtainable, as it was produced only as a by-product of the mining of Bertrandite at a particular mine.
The reason for mining the stone never had anything to do with crystal collectors, but was to obtain Beryllium. They use this mineral for missile nose cones, as it is said to not heat up at high speeds.
Once the mine decided to close to collectors, specimens of the stone became hard to obtain. Fortunately for collectors of these lovely stones, another mine has been opened in the last few years, that is now supplying Tiffany stone to the crystal world.
This piece measures 6" x 3 1/4" x 3 1/4".
