Tourmaline (multi-color with ''cat's eye'' effect)

Item Description

There are a good number of mines in San Diego County that have produced iconic Tourmaline specimens, and the famous Himalaya Mine is certainly in the top tier. This renowned locality is famous for its beautiful pink and green crystals, but it also produced a good number of "unusual" crystals as well. This piece is a very attractive, classic, gemmy, lustrous, striated, prismatic crystal featuring multiple pyramidal terminations of a vivid pink hue, which transitions into a pale greenish-silvery colored section that shows a distinct "cat's eye" effect when rotated in the light, and ends with a most unusual "smoky" shade that has hints of light pink and yellow that I can see when the crystal is backlit. It's certainly an odd color combination for the locality, which is saying something as it has produced some strange pieces in its lifetime. This is a really interesting esoteric piece that would make a fine addition to any Tourmaline suite, a gem crystal collection, or a collection of minerals from either San Diego County or specifically the Himalaya Mine. Valued $2,500. The piece is from the collection of Brian Kosnar who obtained it directly from Bill Larson, who owned and operated the Himalaya Mine for years.