Elbaite Tourmaline "gem pencil" - image 1

Elbaite Tourmaline "gem pencil"

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A beautiful, total gem, and atypical Himalaya Mine "pencil" Tourmaline. These were literally called pencils by the locals, when found in a few pockets over decades, mostly in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This two and a half inch polychrome Elbaite crystal is completely limpid, perfectly terminated and remarkably for Tourmaline, unstriated or imperceptibly so! The bottom two-thirds of the crystal is a rich pastel pink transitioning into a pale green, then capped by a rich pink termination. Better in person - it is remarkable for the locality and for San Diego Tourmaline! Ex. Bill Larson's personal collection! Bill owned the mine through its modern glory years into the early 2000s. He had this in a display collection in his Pala, California shop for decades, at least since the early 1980s, and it comes with his venerable engraved label on a kid of laminate material they used for exhibits back then.