Tourmaline (mined in 1970s)

Item Description

This is a beautiful old-time multi-color crystal of Tourmaline from Barra do Salinas, mined in the 1970s. The piece is in excellent shape overall as the termination is pristine, and the only damage is on the base where the piece was removed from the pocket wall. With backlighting, the crystal is fairly gemmy showing a mixture of various shades of pinks and greens, with a very dark (virtually opaque) green hue on the terminations. Additionally, the termination shows a bit of a "cat's eye" chatoyant effect as you rotate the specimen in the light. These crystals are hard to find on the market these days, especially in such a THICK and robust example, as most crystals of this style where much more slender. The piece was difficult to properly backlit in the photo, and it does look better in person. Specimen weight is 77.8 grams. Valued at $4,000 retail.