The word flawless gets thrown around a lot. Very very few crystals meet this definition, and the few that due are often cut into gems due to their high value. The upper half of this crystal is a great example of that definition! Not a speck or hairline fracture present; just pure flawless blue gem tourmaline.

Tourmaline, lepidolite, ~10cm

Thiago’s Pocket

Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Thiago’s pocket was the last notable discovery at the Pederneira Mine, it was found in 2012. The pocket featured fantastic gem quality blue tourmaline of the highest quality for cutting, so few specimens were preserved. From the Mineralogical Record article on the mine: “This pocket produced nearly 4 kg of the highest possible quality blue tourmaline rough. The crystals had more value as rough than as specimens, so they were cut into beautiful gems.”

This particular crystal stood out to me for a few reasons: the elongated “pencil” shape, the bladed crystal sticking off the side in parallel, and the small accent of lepidolite at the base of the crystal for a nice aesthetic touch.