Unusual Tourmaline crystal

Item Description

The Pederneira Mine in Brazil is one of the great Tourmaline localities on Earth. Large impressive colorful crystals and three-dimensional display specimens are the calling card for this prestigious mine. This particular crystal is not your typical specimen from this famed locale. It is a single prism, free of matrix, but the top portion has an almost "fibrous" appearance, with jet-black opacity, which transitions into a rich translucent green zone in the center, and the base is actually HOLLOW, showing the outer rind with different layer of growth, like the rings of a tree. The fibrous style on the termination is not unheard of for Tourmaline, but still notably rare. A really interesting and unusual Tourmaline specimen that would make a great addition to any collection of gem crystals, Tourmalines, minerals of Brazil or simply "oddities".

We shot a second video for this piece, as we couldn't show everything well enough in a single video, and you can view it at this link https://vimeo.com/859110952

From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio (#8631). This husband and wife duo were actively involved in the mineral world for many decades. Bill was a PhD geologist, and Anne was a mathematician, and they both were very serious mineral collectors. Bill served for many years as adjunct curator of mineralogy at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the Micromounters' Hall of Fame on October 12, 2019. Both Bill and Anne, at various times, served as president both of the Mineralogical Society of Cleveland and of the Micromineral Society of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the mi The rare barium lithium beryllium phosphate Wilancookite was named in their honor in 2015.