Morganite (circa 1950s) (ex Brian Kosnar Collection)

Item Description

The very first Morganite crystals ever found in 1911 in San Diego County, California. For a time they were only referred to as "Pink Beryl", but the famous gemologist George F. Kunz chose to give it name Morganite after John Pierpont Morgan, the famous banker and philanthropist who funded Kunz's work and research into gems and gem minerals. This is an old historic specimen featuring a robust, gemmy, beautiful pink color, thick tabular hexagonal crystal of Morganite which is included with several gemmy olive green colored Tourmaline crystals. There is no matrix, but the crystal is actually doubly-terminated, although it's not complete all around. There are some really cool hollow prismatic "casts" or impressions where Tourmaline crystals once grew, but either fell off or were dislodged when the piece was underground. It's virtually impossible to determine specifically where it was found in San Diego County, but it the piece comes with an old label from Willard Wulff that states it was purchased from Schortmann's Minerals. Based upon the time Wulff was collecting, and the old $8.50 (!) price tag on the specimen, I'm fairly confident it dates back to the 1950s. Internally, the center of the crystal is nearly WATER CLEAR in areas. From the collection of Brian Kosnar. Specimen weight is 136.72 grams.