Tourmaline (Rubellite and Indicolite) (20.38 grams) (ex Richard A. Kosnar Collection)

Item Description

A fantastic old time Tourmaline crystal from the famous Cruzeiro Mine dating back to the early 1970's. This gorgeous tri-color crystal has a fantastic, razor-sharp, highly lustrous pyramidal termination with good gem clarity in areas. I love the glowing rich cranberry Rubellite hue that grades into a slight colorless zone in the center and ends with an intense blue Indicolite color at the base. The piece is complete all the way around, with no major damage of note (save the bottom where it was removed from the pocket). The pyramidal faces are just as lustrous as the prism faces, and the piece isn't frosted or dull whatsoever. It is becoming more and more difficult to obtain superb quality Tourmalines from anywhere these days, as a lot of crystals end up being faceted into gemstones. A beautiful thumbnail of this highly desirable material. Specimen weight is 20.38 grams. This piece comes from the collection of Richard A. Kosnar, the namesake for the phosphate Kosnarite, who had a strong presence importing minerals and gem material from Brazil in the 1970's.