Blue fluorite is the blue color of fluorite, a stone we carry, so read our fluorite page first. This page covers only the blue. It is a natural stone, soft and often very clear.
Halide · Fluorite
Blue Fluorite
Fluorita azul
- Palette
- Blue
- Mined in
- Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, United Kingdom, Mexico, Peru, United States
- Hardness
- Mohs 4.0 ?
- See-through
- translucent
- Known since
- 1530
- Named for
- Latin fluere, 'to flow'
- Also sold as
- blue fluorspar, blue John (banded purple-blue form from Derbyshire)
- Intention
- Calm
- Looking for
- Calm Focus and clarity Communication
- Water
- Keep it dry; wipe with a soft cloth
- Dye or finish
- Blue fluorite beads are generally sold as natural stone, though one bead seller warns that very hard, uniform 'fluorite' can be dyed glass. Sunlight can fade the color.
Not in our pieces now
16 TONNES
The largest documented single fluorite crystal was a cube about 2.12 meters across that weighed roughly 16 tonnes.
1852
George Gabriel Stokes named fluorescence in 1852 after fluorite, the mineral in which he saw the glow.
HALF A TON
Castleton's Blue John fluorite is mined at about half a ton a year today, against a 20-ton annual cap in 18th-century leases.
What it is
The blue to blue-green color of fluorite, a calcium fluoride that is often very clear and glassy. It is soft and scratches easily, and the scratches show. This page covers only the blue color; for the stone itself, see our fluorite page first.
What gives it its color
Blue fluorite gets its blue from trace elements that replace calcium in the crystal (yttrium is linked to blue) and from natural radiation that leaves color centers in it.
Where it comes from
China is the largest producer and Mexico second; classic sources include Asturias in Spain, Derbyshire in England (Blue John), Mongolia and South Africa.
In history
Roman writers prized "murrhine" cups, which scholars identify with banded fluorite, and Pompey was the first to dedicate such cups to Jupiter after his triumph of 61 BC. The Crawford Cup in the British Museum, made about AD 50-100, is carved from fluorite. In Derbyshire, England, banded fluorite called Blue John was being made into vases and fireplace panels by the 1760s, including panels designed by Robert Adam for Kedleston Hall.
What's said about it
In crystal lore today, blue fluorite is kept for calm and clear thinking. People reach for it when they want to say something plainly and kindly, or when a room needs a quieter mood.
It is soft and scratches easily, so people usually wear it as a necklace or earrings, or keep it on a desk or in a quiet corner where it will not be knocked about.
How people wear or keep it: As a necklace or earrings, in a quiet room, on a desk, or in the hand you receive with.
In crystal practice
In the crystal tradition, blue fluorite is paired with the throat and third eye chakras, so practitioners rest it there during meditation or lie down with it in place for a few quiet minutes. Day to day, the same tradition suggests keeping it close: as a necklace or earrings, in a quiet room, on a desk. People reach for it when they want calm, focus and clarity, communication, and many set an intention when they put it on. Most practitioners cleanse a new stone first (running water only if the stone can take it, otherwise smoke or moonlight) and set it aside now and then to rest.
These are beliefs people have held and still hold about the stone, reported as such. Nothing here is a promise or a medical claim. We sell stones as jewelry, not for these effects.
Associations
The chakra and star sign this stone is usually matched with. These are popular traditions, not facts about the stone.
ChakraThroat, Third Eye
ZodiacCancer
ElementAir
Also calledblue fluorspar, blue John (banded purple-blue form from Derbyshire)
Care
- Fluorite is Mohs 4 and has four directions of perfect cleavage, so it chips and splits easily. Avoid knocks.
- It scratches easily and the scratches show on clear blue stone. Keep it in its own pouch away from harder stones.
- Wipe with a soft dry cloth. Skip water soaks, salt, steam and ultrasonic cleaners.
- Keep it out of strong sun and heat as a precaution, since fluorite color comes from color centers in the crystal.
How to tell what you have
- Real fluorite is soft (about 4 on the Mohs scale), feels cool, and scratches more easily than quartz. Glassy beads that feel hard and perfectly uniform may be dyed glass.
- Real fluorite often shows natural color zones and can glow under UV light, but UV alone is not a reliable test.
What sets the price
The price follows whether the bead is real fluorite or dyed glass, and for real fluorite how clear and evenly colored it is and the bead size, shape and polish.
Questions people ask at our table
Is blue fluorite different from fluorite?
It is the same mineral in a blue color. We carry fluorite, so look at that page first. This page only covers what is particular to the blue.
Is it natural or dyed?
Fluorite is naturally colored by impurities, radiation exposure and color centers in the crystal. If a bead is a very even, bright blue, ask the seller what it is made of.
Can I wear it every day?
It is soft, about Mohs 4, and splits along its cleavage, so it suits earrings and pendants better than a bracelet that gets knocked. Keep it away from harder stones.
Does the color fade?
Fluorite color comes from impurities and color centers in the crystal, so it is safest kept out of direct sun and heat.
Where is it from?
Fluorite comes from many countries. Blue pieces are listed from Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Peru and the United States, and the largest reserves are in South Africa, Mexico and China.
Not in our pieces right now
Stones we do carry that are close to it are listed under related stones.
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