tectonically bent "bubble gum" Tourmaline (ex Fioravanti Coll.)

Item Description

This is an outstanding and beautiful, doubly terminated, "hot pink" or "bubblegum-pink", gemmy and lustrous crystal from older finds in Afghanistan. It shows a natural "bending" caused by tectonic movement as the crystal was growing, I have been told, and more characteristic of the Himalaya Mine in San Diego, than Afghani material. This is in fact one of the more dramatic such specimens we have seen, for degree of bending. The flattened, strikingly tapering crystal is aesthetically set on a bed of rare for the locale, pearlescent, tan, lepidolite. Complete all-around and nearly pristine, with a small ding noted on the edge of the fat termination. OLD, rare and desirable combination material, as Giancarlo Fioravanti (# 129) purchased this piece in 1983 for 150 Deutsch marks. MUCH, MUCH BETTER IN PERSON!!