A huge, magnificent , doubly-terminated crystal that one has to acknowledge as one of the largest such ever to come out of the Himalaya and survive. The mine is notorious for its rough handling in situ of gem pockets, and most large tourmalines are irreparably broken in the pockets. This one snapped cleanly in the middle while in situ, and has been very expertly repaired now. It is not just big, but actually elegant, as well. I love the contrast of the two terminations: one a superb cityscape of elongated towers; the other a sharp and unusually lustrous basal termination with an attached quartz crystal. The piece is a floater, complete all around! Other than the repair, it is as close to pristine as you can ask for, which I find also remarkable given the size . The color on this is INTENSE, no pale pink but a deep red hue throughout, with good translucency as well. On display, it stands elegantly on a delicate base we have made, or can be displayed like a "rocketship" as Larson had it for so many years in his company collection at Pala Intl. It is that display angle you can see clearly in the shot of the AMERICAN TREASURES exhibit at Tucson of 2008, in the photo here. Note how this huge and elegant crystal just dominates the case! Mass is 576 grams - when you hold it, it feels like holding a baton, not a tourmaline.

Nice locality piece! It has elongated dark tourmalines attached to a vertical quartz crystal cluster. Minor damage, but overall interesting and aesthetic