Tourmaline With Quartz ex Obodda collection

Item Description

From the Herb Obodda collection, this is a very unusual "bent" tourmaline with a growth curvature caused by tectonic movement in the pocket as the crystal grew. The result is a curved crystal that defies the standard geometric growth we would expect to see in a tourmaline. This large crystal is complete all around with a nice association to a quartz and is not repaired (as most such large crystals are from this region, curved or otherwise). Sometimes this bizarre growth is attributed by collectors to be due to breaking-and-rehealing, although this is not technically correct in all cases I am told. In any case, the result is a most unusual piece that stands out among other tourmalines and illustrates the crazy fates of geology and time that let these things survive to reach us (after forming perhaps nearly 100 million years ago!). This is a dramatic, BIG specimen. It comes with a base, free of charge. We had this valued at $9500 in our 2008 purchase of the Obodda collection. 462 grams