Elbaite

Unknown Owner

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In case you were not aware, the name of the tourmaline species Elbaite is derived from the Isle of Elba off the coast of Tuscany, Italy. To the untrained eye it might seem that the Elbaite crystal on this specimen from San Piero in Campo, Elba Island is nowhere near as good as those from the pegmatites of Brazil and elsewhere, but to own a specimen of Elbaite from Elba is a very rare privilege indeed. This small cabinet specimen has history too, coming with an old handwritten label from the 'sons' of Emile Deyrolle dating to sometime after 1896. The usage of "Tourmaline" rather than Elbaite suggests a date pre-1913. These things are now so rare, and with a 1.7 cm long stocky Elbaite crystal with a rich pinkish red colour this is a really fine example of an Elbaite crystal on matrix from the Type Locality. The Elbaite crystal is missing part of one side where a gooseberry-green internal core is exposed, but the two main display sides of the crystal are glossy and show nice classic vertical growth lines. This is a significant rarity for collectors of tourmaline.