Elbaite

Unknown Owner

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Everyone loves a 'blue cap' tourmaline and this off-matrix individual prismatic crystal from the modern finds at Barra de Salinas pegmatite at Coronel Murta in Minas Gerais state, Brazil is a super size for display. Technically 6.6 cm in length, about 1 cm of this at its base is narrower, where the fracture surface from where its was extracted slopes upwards along one side of the prism. At the other end, its termination is the centre of attention: a glossy, flat, pinacoid crystal face, complete all round and with no obvious chipping around the edges. However, it is its colour, or colour-zoning in relation to the main prism body, which grabs ones attention. 90 % of its prism length is a fine pale strawberry pink colour but with a thin (mm scale) rim of pale grey to teal-blue showing down the edges of the prism. At its summit, this teal-blue colour intensifies and thickens to a band 4 mm wide with its vibrancy reaching a crescendo right at its tip. With excellent translucency throughout, directional lighting really does enhance its show of colour. It has two repairs but you have to look very carefully to spot them.