Tourmaline in Quartz

Tourmaline is one of the most popular minerals amongst single-species collectors and collectors in general.  This is because of its never-ending variation in colour combinations and wide range of mineral associations, that result from the complex chemistry of water-rich pegmatite melts.  This gorgeous example contains long gemmy Tourmaline crystals the colour of fresh rhubarb, partly embedded in a solid block of milky translucent Quartz whose outer euhedral (developed) faces are coated with a pure white film of what is probably Albite feldspar.  It is against this white film that the six bicoloured Tourmaline crystals are set, making a quite different and aesthetic foil to the rhubarb-red prisms and the teal-tinged sage-green terminations.  The six beautifully developed Tourmaline crystals range from 5.2 cm down to just 1.3 cm, but the latter is by far the baby of the group!  Each Tourmaline has an undamaged flat pinacoid termination and these vary in texture between crystals from a micro-stippled matt to crackled semi-lustrous caps.  A quite superb display piece!