Elbaite with Cleavelandite and Lepidolite - image 1

Elbaite with Cleavelandite and Lepidolite

Unknown Owner

For aesthetics, this multicoloured Elbaite tourmaline specimen from Coronel Murta in Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil gets top marks and it has no recorded repairs. Its main feature is a 9 cm long teal blue-green glassy prismatic Elbaite crystals featuring a pale strawberry-pink rounded tip. This rises up statuesque-like from a pale purple Lepidolite and white Cleavelandite matrix from which a second Elbaite - a polycoloured flat-topped prism - passes across in front of the base of the main crystal. This second tourmaline, which is about 2.5 cm in length, transitions from deep blackberry purple at its base, through raspberry or cranberry red to teal green at its termination. The colours displayed by this piece are vivid and spectacular, and not just from the Elbaite crystals. The Lepidolite adds significantly with its lilac hues and super pearlescent lustre across its flat surfaces. The base of the main crystal shows some minor gaps where another crystal once attached, but this is hidden behind the second tourmaline crystal. This is a magnificent display specimen, and one which with good backlighting will really enhance a fine mineral display.