Elbaite with Quartz

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When these classic Burmese "mushroom tourmalines" came out in the 1990s, almost nothing had matrix association. What a beautifully composed and balanced Tourmaline-Quartz thumbnail from Burma! This combination specimen is also a little more complex than it appears! Outwardly it is nicely composed, rather tall "mushroom cap" Tourmaline with fairly complex morphology associated with an attractive, stubby, slightly milky Quartz crystal as a companion. Looking at the bottom, contacted end of the piece reveals that there are three mineral species present! The Tourmaline consists of a black, Schorl core with a distinctive hexagonal outline relative to the enclosing raspberry pink Elbaite exterior and these are in turn juxtaposed to the Quartz crystal. It's also interesting to note that both the Schorl and Quartz grew against each other and the Elbaite growth is later and is not present between the Quartz or Schorl. An attractive pegmatite combination piece that tells a story of how it formed in the pocket, to the eye of the mineralogist! This also happens to be a competitive-level thumbnail example of this now-antique find, from over 20 years ago.