This is a very intensely colored dark red crystal, with among the top color saturation hue you can expect from this mine. In fact, it has purplish/maroon overtones and is not the usual pink-red color by any stretch. When seen in person, the sharp color bandings you see in the photo are even more dramatic. The crystal is doubly-terminated - the unusually steep termination atop arising from a contact as it grew against another crystal in the pocket. The termination is much more lustrous than that on most Himalaya mine pieces. The piece is very transparent, such that you can read through much of the length of it - unusual in a Himalaya crystal of this size, which usually tends towards murkiness. This is just, overall, a superb Himalaya Mine piece of a color that makes it stand out from the norm, with better luster and translucency. Collected by mine owner Bill Larson in the 1980s and long in the company collection at their shop, Pala Intl. 58 grams