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Mineral Specimens with Elbaite
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A striking and VERY UNCOMMON elbaite group consisting of TWO colors, green and pink, AND two different termination habits! You get this color combination very seldom. The two large elbaites are undamaged, gemmy, lustrous and again have two different termination styles. Smaller pink crystals to 2.3 cm abound on the cleavelandite matrix. 7.7 x 6.3 x 4.8 cm
9.4 x 4.1 x 3.4 cm. A large, complete, multiply-terminated gem tourmaline crystal out of the collection of Ed David. It is mostly pink, with a light green area near the termination. The termination itself is fine, complete and undamaged, with around a dozen separate peaks - glossy, gemmy and sharp. Weighs 277 grams.
2.7 x 0.3 x 0.2 cm to 1.2 x 0.3 x 0.2 cm. A gorgeous array of little gem crystals of tourmaline from Afghanistan. There are many wonderful "pencil" crystals here with perfect clarity - grassy green bottoms and pink termination. Almost all are terminated. Total weight is 40 grams.
2.4 x 0.7 x 0.4 cm. A fine little gem crystal of tourmaline from Connecticut. It is grassy green at the bottom, merging to a more lemony green towards the sharp termination.
6.0 x 5.4 x 4.5 cm. A superb gemmy and lustrous, 2.6 cm, vivid cranberry-red tourmaline crystal from the most famous tourmaline discovery of all time at the Jonas Mine in 1978. This gem tourmaline is beautifully set on a 3-dimensional matrix of lustrous, very pastel-purple/light gray lepidolite crystals and bladed albite. A couple of smaller rubellites are a gorgeous accent.
16.2 x 13.7 x 11.6 cm. The Himalaya Mine did not produce many large quartzes of good quality, and was heavily disrupted geologically so large specimens are rare in any case. Usually large crystals are repaired and heavily damaged - this is not repaired and has only a little damage (mostly to the top-termination facing to the right, out of sight) This is what I like to call a "pocket piece" in that it really illustrates nicely how gem crystals form in the ground. There are 3 tourmalines hanging off the quartz. The gemmier crystal, showing classic Himalaya pink color, is 2 inches plus some extra stalk below the gem area. The second crystal, totally different, is another classic style from the mine. It shows bi-coloration and is doubly-terminated, snugly anchored into the quartz on one edge. It is also 2 inches long. A third, slightly shorter but fatter bi-colored crystal sits on the backside. The tourmalines are undamaged.
16.5 x 3.6 x 2.2 cm. This multicolored crystal is really unusual in that it looks like a frozen waterfall, turned upside-down, and dyed with cotton candy colors. It is quite complete, crystallized 100% all around even the backside in this complex parallel-growth style. It is actually a floater except only for a small attachment at the base. Ex. Ed David Collection.
2.3 x 0.8 x 0.7 cm. A fine, gem, tri-colored tourmaline thumbnail from the famous Strickland Quarry of Connecticut. The beautiful, powder-blue base grades upward to a pleasing green. The pyramidal termination is capped by a bit of pink. Ex. Allan Young Thumbnail Collection.
6.0 x 2.0 x 1.7 cm. A beautiful, gemmy and lustrous, renowned "hot" pink tourmaline from the Stewart Mine of California. The pinacoid termination has an interesting ripple look and the sidecar crystal and purple lepidolites at the base are nice compliments. Ex. John Barlow Collection # 1454. 25 grams.
6.4 x 1.1 x 0.9 cm. A pure gem crystal of tourmaline from the Pederneira. It is complete, uncontacted, and terminated; the sidecar crystal is also in fine condition. The color is somewhere between a bottle-green and a spectral, grassier green. The transparency is magnificent. Weighs 13 grams. From the so-called Rocket Pocket, around 2002-2003.
6.4 x 3.7 x 2.1 cm. A verified King Mine tourmaline, said to have come out around the early 1900s, and which Bill obtained from Pete Bancroft (author of Gem and Crystal Treasures) many years ago. This piece was probably mined around 1900, and is the kind of material once sent to the Empress dowager of China when San Diego was a gem export center for the US (pre-WWI); and the Chinese carving market drove gem mining efforts there. This is a really colorful and classic style for the mine, with a bright pink tourmaline capped by a faintly blue-toned termination when looked at from the side (but it looks pink, looking down from above). Weight is 98 grams. Ex. Pala International/William Larson Collection.
9.4 x 4.9 x 2.8 cm. This specimen is a nearly pristine, slender crystal that is a verified King Mine tourmaline, said to have come out around the early 1900s; and which Bill obtained from an old San Diego collection perhaps 20 years ago. This piece was probably mined around 1900, and is the kind of material once sent to the Empress dowager of China when San Diego was a gem export center for the US, pre-WWI; and the Chinese carving market drove gem mining efforts. This is simply a really colorful and classic style for the mine, with a bright pink tourmaline capped by a faintly blue-toned termination when looked at from the side (but it looks colorless and then pink, looking down from above). The back is fully terminated by complex micro-growth of minute terminations, giving it a silky look. Weight is 208 grams. Ex. Pala International/William Larson Collection.
8.1 x 5.6 x 4.7 cm. This piece was probably mined around 1900, and is the kind of material once sent to the Empress dowager of China when San Diego was a gem export center for the US, pre-WWI, and the Chinese carving market drove gem mining efforts. This is simply a really unusual and interesting cluster of bright pink tourmaline with blue pyramidal terminations atop, and an odd volcano caldera-like in-growth that lends depth and dimensionality to an otherwise typical termination. This specimen was exchanged by Bill out of the Smithsonian with Paul Desautels as curator, in a large exchange in the late 1970s. Weight is 255 grams. Ex. Pala International/William Larson Collection.
8.0 x 6.9 x 5.5 cm. Nicknamed "The Elbow," this was one of the more well-known and distinct Himalaya Mine pieces in the collection, and is easily unique for its odd geometry. It also was shown in the AMT case at Tucson 2008 as one of the Himalaya specimens in the locality case. The piece consists of two intergrown crystals intersecting at an unlikely angle, and the whole cluster is complete all around - a floater. The slender, upwards pointing crystal is 5.5 x 4 x 1.5 cm in size. The other is 5.5 x 4 x 3.5 cm and is basally flat on one end and shows a pyramidal termination on the other. Ex. Pala International/William Larson Collection.
12 x 10 x 9 cm. Nicknamed "The Beer Cans", this was one of the more well-known Himalaya Mine pieces in the collection, and is easily notable for its sheer size alone. The large tourmaline is the size of a soda can, and the whole cluster is complete all around - a floater. It was mined by the legendary Ralph Potter in the 1950s or 1960s and has long been in this showcase collection. In person, it has a much richer maroon color than is shown here. Ex. Pala International/William Larson Collection.
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Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com
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