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 — that is 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.
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.
