Rubellite Tourmaline (old classic - 48 grams) Steve Smale Coll.

Item Description

It is 48 grams in mass and nearly 4 inches tall. The intense cranberry sloping cap is really striking, coming after a maroon body. The interior at the base has a gray core, adding pizzazz. Despite its height, there is no repair. It is pristine except a small angular bit of damage on one back edge of the termination, where some attached mica was broken off I believe. A small bit of mica is still embedded in the termination. This is a classic style for the Cruzeiro, but not seen now in some 20 years. For the size, the quality of the color, and the locality, this is an excellent piece valued at $3000. Comes with a custom-made and engraved lucite base valued at $150, for free. Classic older rubellite from the famed Cruzeiro Mine with a fine provenance. I exchanged this beautiful gemmy and lustrous rubellite tourmaline from the well-known gem crystal collection of Dr. Steven Smale, mathematician and mineral collector (see his book on Amazon.com - The Smale Collection: Beauty in Natural Crystals). It was the largest of this style he still had, from a large find in the 1980s, as he recalled.