Tourmaline with unusual surface patterns - image 1

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Tourmaline with unusual surface patterns

$6,500.00

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T

The ArkenstoneFeatured

3,403 for sale·Member since 2026

This is a highly unusual tourmaline single crystal, a floater that is nearly complete all around; and from an unusual locality for specimens. This remote region of Nigeria is known for small pegmatites that have produced tourmaline rough for many years in artisanal, not large commercial, quantities. We purchased the piece from a direct source who travelled to the area and brought it to us at Tucson to show as a crystal before cutting it for the intense, saturated green cutting value of a bright and high level tourmaline gem within. The stone is indeed bright with a top luster and internal brightness and clarity. It would cut easily and well; and the color is deep but not dark. The crystal is nearly complete all around, with just a small break on bottom as I would display. Recognizing the rarity of the locality AND the stone itself, ee bought it for both color and shape - as the shape itself looks more like a Nigerian phenakite or a Brazilian spessartine in the surface texture, and it was hard to believe this was a tourmaline! We normally see this "etching-like" pattern or surface growth pattern in other species, not tourmaline. To prove the point, we did test this. Yes, it is tourmaline! According to Google: The Ile-Ife and Modakeke axis in Osun State, Nigeria, is a notable region for high-quality, colorful tourmaline. The area's deposits are frequently mined by artisanal and small-scale miners from weathered pegmatite rock formations. Stones mined in this axis are generally recovered from small-scale artisanal pits. The rough gems are often cut and polished for jewelry, decor, and export (and, hence, we do not see them on the mineral market!). 33 grams. BETTER IN PERSON.