Foitite (rare Tourmaline species)

Item Description

A beautiful little thumbnail specimen of the rare Tourmaline species, Foitite from an undisclosed locality on the famous Elba Island where several Tourmaline species have been found. This piece shows a beautiful and rare PURPLE hue at the termination which gives way to a VERY dark reddish-black hue (most likely Elbaite), that turns opaque black at the base (most likely Schorl). It is probable that there are multiple species present within this crystal, as recent testing on this material has shown that many multicolor Tourmaline crystals from Elba host more than one species. Foitite was named after Franklin F. Foit, Jr a Tourmaline specialist in 1993. This crystal was analyzed by Gene Foord in 1994 and labeled as Foitite.