Rubellite, with Lepidolite ex Jack Halpern Collection

Item Description

This very fine Tourmaline miniature, 19 grams, is from what we today simply call the Jonas Mine - and from THE SINGLE FINEST TOURMALINE POCKET OF ALL TIME, to most collectors. This previously unremarkable Itatiaia mine, had changed hands several times before in the end, in 1978, a stunning pocket was found by the family of Jonas Lima. This is a classic Jonas Pocket Rubellite with its rich, cranberry-red color and striated prism faces. Add in a sharp, flat termination, good translucency with some gemminess, and numerous books of sparkling purpley Lepidolite draped attractively around the crystal for accent, and you have a high-quality miniature from this most famous of finds. Small crystals even tend to be priced by the centimeter, and the reason is that they remain distinct and immediately grab the eye, even after all these years. Formed in a lithium pegmatite, the rich lithium source lends itself to the growth of both the Lepidolite, a lithium Mica, AND the Rubellite, which is a lithium-rich Tourmaline. #1753 in the collection, Jack must have purchased this soon after the discovery. At that time, he was painting the labels and numbers on the crystals, and we believe the piece is doubly terminated from the shape of it, with a complete second termination under his paint. There are numerous references to Jack and his collection in print, but perhaps a good tour of the collection and its history will help give perspective on just how good, and important, this collection is: https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection . A great article featuring this discovery can be found here: https://www.gia.edu/doc/Gem-Pegmatites-of-Minas-Gerais-Brazil-The-Tourmalines-of-the-Governador-Valadares-District.pdf