SM20-168
Elbaite Tourmaline w/ Lepidolite and Albite
Pederneira Mine, São José da Safira, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Miniature, 4.1 x 2.0 x 1.8 cm
SOLD

A cute Pederneira Indicolite Tourmaline that shows some geological history: The main Tourmaline crystal measures 4.1cm from end-to-end, is a very nice medium-dark Indicolite blue, is totally transparent and has quite the story to tell! It begins at the base of the crystal where this entire piece was probably separated from its matrix by pocket rupture (the pocket it formed in burst or slowed as it formed) and then later at some time during this process it created the "tectonic bend" at the base of the crystal that kept growing as an almost tight-fibrous extension of the crystal that can be attested to the chatoyant effect on this side of the larger Tourmaline crystal. Both the main crystal and its side car also record their violent natural history in their broken and subsequently rehealed terminations. Nice growth hillocks are developed on the "pinacoid" of the large crystal. The sidecar Tourmaline has been rehealed too, with rehealing on one end along with fine grained, mounded lavender Lepidolite covering the other end. There are also a couple of other little mounds of Lepidolite on the piece as well some coarser grained Lepidolite and some tiny, white bladed Albite crystals. Cool piece! Weight is 14gm.

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