Liddicoatite Tourmaline

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Many of the amazing gem tourmaline crystals found in the pegmatite-rich island of Madagascar are the species Liddicoatite, or its fluorine-dominant analogue Fluor-liddicoatite. They both form in an impressive range of intensely saturated colours and it is impossible to tell the two apart without detailed chemical analysis, so this gem-quality small miniature crystal is probably better regarded as a calcium-lithium dominant tourmaline: either Liddicoatite or Fluor-liddicoatite. It is the tip, or termination of a prismatic crystal, which has an extremely intense and rich burgundy to claret colour, with good translucency meaning that with backlighting its colour shows amazingly well. Its colour is uniform throughout and its three pyramidal termination faces are extremely well-developed, along with the upper parts of the prism faces with nice vertical growth line striations. Ex Jesse Fisher and Joan Kureczka Collection, this crystal is simply recorded as from Madagascar.