Pink Fluorite is a highly sought-after color variety known for its delicate to intense rose-pink hues. Collectors prize its well-defined cubic or octahedral crystal forms, which are most famously found in Alpine-type pegmatites and hydrothermal veins.
Is this pink fluorite?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch pink fluorite with a known reference. Pink Fluorite sits at Mohs 4, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Pink Fluorite leaves a white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Pink Fluorite typically shows a vitreous luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: pink, magenta, rose-red.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: isometric. Typical habit: cubic crystals, octahedral crystals, massive.
Often confused with
Pink Fluorite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Pink Fluorite is noticeably harder (Mohs 4 vs. 3).
How to tell apart: Rose Quartz is the harder of the two (Mohs 7 vs. 4).
How to tell apart: Pink Fluorite is noticeably harder (Mohs 4 vs. 3).
Often found alongside pink fluorite
Minerals reported to co-occur with pink fluorite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- CaF₂
- Mohs hardness
- 4
- Density
- 3.18 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Isometric
- Crystal habit
- Cubic Crystals, Octahedral Crystals, Massive
- Cleavage
- Perfect Octahedral
- Fluorescence
- Often Bright Blue or Purple Under UV Light
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector, Decorative
- Host rock
- Hydrothermal Veins, Alpine Fissures
- Typical price
- $20-100 thumbnail, $200-2000 cabinet specimen
Where rockhounds find pink fluorite
1 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Chamonix, France
- Alpujarras, Spain
- Pakistan
- Switzerland
Field-hunting tip
Look in hydrothermal veins, alpine fissures country, the host setting where pink fluorite typically forms. If you start seeing quartz, dolomite, calcite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a cubic crystals, octahedral crystals, massive habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Maryland. Start trip planning there.
More pink fluorite photos
Common questions
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Find pink fluorite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
