Elbaite Tourmaline

A lovely stubby miniature terminated Elbaite Tourmaline from the Himalaya mine in Diego County, California, USA.  The prism is almost ovoid in cross section and measures 2.5 cm tall with vertically striated sides and a flat pinacoid termination.  The majority of the prism is translucent cerise pink terminating with a 3 to 4 mm thick cap of pale apple green drifting into pale sky blue.  Some of the prism faces show a little distortion in growth and on the back face it appears to be conchoidally fractured, yet naturally re-healed.  This specimen is mounted on a bevelled square acrylic base and comes with an ISIS minerals label (Accrington, Lancashire) which dates from around the mid-1980s.