Elbaite (ex. Flynn)

Item Description

This mostly raspberry red Elbaite Tourmaline is from the Neuschwaben 73 pegmatite near Karibib in Namibia and was mined almost continuously for gem Tourmaline. We rarely see Elbaite crystals from Namibia these days and this is a very good, and very colorful, nicely terminated, nearly two an one-half inch crystal from the Shields and Frances Flynn collection. It displays good luster on the prism faces and even better luster on the pyramidal termination. Backlighting reveals somewhat gemmy areas to this otherwise translucent crystal that has a deep green interior and a thin variegated, dark pink and green colored veneer in places and a cranberry colored termination. It is lightly striated with a well developed pyramidal termination on one end, and the other end is cut and roughly polished. This was undoubtedly mined by Sid Pieters who operated the pegmatite. It has a mass of 18.25 grams. Ex. Shields and Frances Flynn collection. rare material!