Elbaite Tourmaline

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An imposing, intensely red Elbaite crystal of the variety once called "Siberite" by the European collecting nobility who sought after these on their Grand Tours through Russia in the 1800s - and this is classic modern material that takes us back to those days. At 64.95 grams, this robust, very 3-dimensional, small-cab sized crystal displays a sharp, glassy (uncommon) pyramidal termination and lustrous prism faces exhibit light striations parallel to their length. The mostly gem interior is characterized by a dark pink, translucent bottom half and an upper half that is just a gorgeous, transparent, rich magenta color! This is a well formed Elbaite crystal with classic color patterns for this locale, though rarely seen in a complete crystal with any translucence. It is complete all around, 360 degrees with razor-sharp edges. A classic and lovely Malkhan Tourmaline. This was found in the 2013-2018 mining of the Sosedka pegmatite, now completely excavated and done.