DT Tourmaline with Topaz and Cleavelandite (Pala Intl. Coll.)

Item Description

A monster tourmaline at 1200 grams, this is a complexly-terminated, doubly terminated crystal intergrown with topaz and cleavelandite on its terminations and sides. It has zones of rich olive-green gemminess, when backlit. It is a HUGE crystal, with no repairs - which is remarkable for this mine. Not the most beautiful, but an important and large museum-sized specimen from an important locale. It is apparently from the earliest period of mining here circa 1910, according to Bill Larson: "it predates Louis Spaulding and the modern era as I got it from an old collector in Encinitas back in the 1960's, exchanged with cut tourmalines I mined. It was presumed to be from the 1910 period there." Ex Pala International Company/Bill Larson Collection. Valued at $1000.