Schorl Tourmaline with Albite (var: Cleavelandite) (ex Bill Larson Collection)

Item Description

Here we have a showy association specimen from the lesser known Blue Chihuahua Mine. The piece featuring a sharp, lustrous, trigonal crystal of black Schorl Tourmaline which is topped by a lovely "snowball"-esque bladed group of off-white Albite (var: Cleavelandite). Minimal roughness can be seen, but overall it's a showy and worthwhile specimen that would make a great addition to any suite of pegmatite minerals or specimens from southern California. From the collection of Bill Larson of Fallbrook, California, who self-collected the specimen in the early 1960s with his mentor Josie Scripps. Bill is a well-known gem and mineral dealer as well as a miner and collector. Bill is synonymous with minerals of San Diego County, and owned and operated famous mines such as the Stewart Lithia, the Tourmaline Queen, the Pala Chief and the Himalaya, producing some of the most iconic mineral specimens to come out of the area during the 1970s-1980s. You can read his biography at https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/larsonwilliam-f/