Blue-Cap Tourmaline With Albite - image 1

Blue-Cap Tourmaline With Albite - image 2

Blue-Cap Tourmaline With Albite

Unknown Owner

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The major crystal here sticks up about 3.5 cm, shooting up from the spray of crystallized albite around it. These unusual blue-tipped tourmalines came out of Stak Nala in the mid 1990s. I am aware of only one find of them, which came to Tucson at that time and was highly valued. The style itself, is classic and came from many pockets over a decade of production here. But the thick blue cap on the termination, those were few and far between. This specimen is complete all around 360 degrees and the termination is freestanding and looks good from any angle. It is not, as are so many of these clusters, repaired. From the collection of Hubert De Monmonier (1919-2007), donated by bequest to the University of Arizona Museum to add to their displays and to provide specimens for sale to establish an endowment fund for museum operations, in perpetuity.