Tourmaline with Lepidolite on Quartz (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

This mine has produced some of the most famous Tourmaline specimens in the world. This is a very attractive specimen, featuring a handful of sharp, lustrous, translucent beautiful pink colored crystals of Tourmaline measuring up to 1.5 cm long associated with purple gemmy groups of Lepidolite on Quartz crystal matrix. It must be noted that Lepidolite is no longer a valid mineral species, and according to the scattered information we found, Lepidolite is defined as a mineral in the so-called Polylithionite-Trilithionite series. With that said, we're still calling it Lepidolite. No damage on the pyramidal termination of a Tourmaline with a contact basal termination on the other end. and the piece is actually partially recrystallized on the base, so it's nearly a "floater". I can't say for sure which pocket this piece is from, but I'm certain that there are Himalaya experts out there who would know. Good luster on the prism faces, and a classic example of these fantastic specimens from the Himalaya. A nice display piece from this historic locality. Valued at $400. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#10939). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017).