Elbaite (Tourmaline)

This tall, yet relatively wide, crystal of pink Elbaite Tourmaline is a beautiful example of the ex-matrix single crystals found in a recently discovered gem Tourmaline pocket in the mining district of Coronel Murta in Minas Gerais, Brazil.  The prism is semi-transparent with plenty of gemmy zones which are dispersed throughout slightly cloudy Elbaite due to micro-crackled crystal growth.  The prism faces are finely and complexly striated and, under low magnification, some show feint criss-crossing lines where hair-like Tourmaline crystals may once have nucleated, but have long-since disappeared.  Nature is complex and such features given a tantalising insight into the constantly evolving chemistry within pegmatite pockets.  The overall colour is a pinkish-rose red but suddenly changes to a 1.1 cm deep zone of almost colourless, pink tinted Elbaite.  It then finishes with a brilliant cerise-pink termination, in the form of a flat pinacoid with a greasy lustre.  A few small lavender Lepidolite mica crystals sit around the base.  This Brazilian Elbaite crystal looks magnificent stood vertically on its clear acrylic base.