Tourmaline Var. Rubellite

Unknown Owner

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The Cryo Genie produced only a few magnificent pockets in its short and erratic lifetime as a specimen mine in the 1990s, but this was always one of the more celebrated pieces, for sheer impact and color. It went into the noted collection of the late Al Ordway, who specialized in unusual California localities. This piece is huge and dramatic, and has NEON PINK color, not anything normal in a shade of pink or red hue for San Diego or any other mine. this is quite literally the hottest pink tourmaline I have seen in this size, from San Diego. Aside from its specimen value, it is worth a fortune for carving value to the people who make carved buddhas and dolphins out of tourmaline...what a tragedy that would be, though! It is a real honor to have another great Cryo-Genie specimen of this magnitude to offer on the site. Very, very few tourmalines of this size and importance came out of the mine. This weighs several pounds, by the way; and I feel that it would be carved and sold already if it was from a more famous locale than this remote little mine in San Diego. Joe Budd Photos.