Tourmaline on Microcline with Albite

Item Description

This mine has produced some of the most famous Tourmaline specimens in the world. If you collect San Diego County Tourmalines, or even worldwide Tourmalines, or just interesting minerals from the United States, this is a good reference piece to pick up. The piece features a 1.5 cm sharp, gemmy pink and green prism with lustrous striated faces. The back of the crystal has a rough termination where it grew against another mineral, but it's contacted on the front where it detached from the pocket. The color and gemminess are still good for the material. The crystal is sitting on a blocky beige colored crystal of Microcline with "rosette" of Albite (variety: "Cleavelandite"). There is also a small spot on the piece where we found an unknown somewhat golden-brown colored crystal section, which might be an oddly colored Tourmaline or perhaps something less common like Stibiotantalite. A cool and colorful specimen from this renowned U.S. locality.