$245Median
494Sold (12 mo)
$750Last sale
Elbaite from Pederneira mine, São José da Safira, Minas Gerais, Brazil
A striking and highly aesthetic indicolite tourmaline association from the celebrated “Thiago’s Pocket” at the Pederneira Mine — one of the most revered modern discoveries for elite Brazilian tourmaline. This specimen captures the pocket’s signature electric saturation and pristine crystal definition in a dramatic, sculptural arrangement.
Three principal indicolite crystals radiate boldly from a smoky quartz base, forming a dynamic, star-like composition. The tourmalines are elongated, sharply striated prisms with crisp trigonal terminations and excellent surface luster. Their color is a deeply saturated blue-green — true indicolite — transitioning from darker, inky teal at the bases to more transparent, vibrant blue toward the upper sections where light penetrates the thinner crystal edges.
Transparency is strong for crystals of this thickness. When backlit, the prisms glow with vivid internal luminosity, revealing fine parallel growth striations and subtle axial zoning. The terminations are clean and well-preserved, with natural contacts confined to their attachment points on the quartz.
The quartz matrix itself is sculptural and supportive rather than dominant. A slightly smoky quartz crystal forms the foundation, its glassy faces and soft brown translucency providing tonal contrast to the saturated blues of the tourmaline. The interplay between trigonal prisms and hexagonal quartz geometry creates a visually compelling mineral dialogue.
It is important to note that the overwhelming majority of gem-quality tourmaline crystals recovered from Thiago’s Pocket were cut into faceted gemstones due to their extraordinary clarity and color. As a result, relatively few high-grade crystals were preserved in natural specimen form. Pieces such as this — retaining multiple gem-quality indicolite prisms in raw, undamaged configuration — are therefore considerably rarer than the pocket’s gem output might suggest.
Material from Thiago’s Pocket is now firmly established as modern-classic Pederneira production. Specimens combining multiple well-terminated indicolite crystals on aesthetic quartz, particularly with this level of color saturation and preservation, represent a shrinking category in the marketplace.
This is a quintessential Minas Gerais cabinet piece — bold in structure, electric in color, and increasingly significant for having escaped the cutter’s wheel.
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1 for sale·Member since 2025
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