Elbaite

Unique in their presentation, the beds of parallel to sub-parallel dark bottle-green coloured Elbaite tourmaline crystals interspersed with bright white platy Albite var. Cleavelandite crystals found at Stak Nala, in the Haramosh Mountains, Skardu District, Baltistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan in the 1990s and early 2000s are now iconic. Usually seen as individual or small groups of crystals, this cabinet-sized bed of at least 16 individual terminated Elbaite crystals is phenomenal in its quality for display. The uniformly thick prisms of Elbaite all transition from very dark green for the majority of their length to a paler green translucent cap. This paler zone features colours like seen in the green and blue shades of the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, from an acidic lime-green through acidic yellow-green and into a teal blue-green. The network of meshed thin, platy, white Cleavelandite only enhances its quality. In superb overall condition this really is a very pretty display specimen, especially with good directional lighting.