FTN22-73
Elbaite
Mount Mica Quarry, Paris, Oxford Co., Maine, USA
Thumbnail, 1.8 x 0.6 x 0.6 cm
Ex. Shields and Frances Flynn
$950.00
Order Now
Long before California produced the great tourmalines it does today, the best locality for gem tourmaline in the US was in Maine at Mt. Mica and surrounding quarries, in the 1800s. This is a gemmy, bottle-green, and striated 1.8 cm crystal with two smaller crystals on the side of the main one. Mt. Mica material was found starting in the 1820s and has been worked for a very long time but we do not have a exact date for this specimen (it could have been found at any time prior to 1950, though, we believe). The luster is good, with a touch of silkiness that gives the surface a texture and in strong light, slightly obscures the true gemminess of the crystal. The crystal is a good, representative Maine tourmaline of a rare older style. From the East Coast suite of the Shields Flynn collection. Shields acquired over 1800 worldwide thumbnails over 6 decades of collecting.