Canadian Tourmaline on Quartz

Item Description

Tourmaline from Canada is fairly uncommon and elbaite is even more uncommon. This is a beautiful thumbnail of elbaite on quartz from the only lithium-enriched granitic pegmatite in the famous Grenville Province (Mindat). The luster is moderate to good, the color uniformly black but the crystal is a deep green with a strong backlight, and it has a sharp, well-formed termination. The elbaite crystal is 2.6 x 0.8 cm. This is an unusual specimen on the market and can easily fit in with a specialized tourmaline collection or Canadian collection. From the collection of well known Canadian collectors and specialists in thumbnails, Wendy and Frank Melanson, later to Alex Venzke.