Elbaite (Tourmaline) on Quartz

A 6.9 cm tall bi-coloured pink and green Elbaite (Tourmaline) is attached to a 7 cm long terminated milky Quartz crystal at ninety degrees.  This  spectacular small cabinet specimen is from Coronel Murta in Minas Gerais, Brazil and is the variety know as ‘watermelon’ because of its outer green rind and inner candy-pink core.  The Elbaite crystal is also wide and deep at 2.8 x 2.7 cm, giving it a tall yet chunky look which, in combination with the Quartz, is striking and arresting.  The translucent, frosted candy-pink core composes most of the crystal and the gemmy green, a 2 mm-thick outer veneer.  The lower 2 to 3 cm of the pink core is exposed and is encrusted in pale lavender Lepidolite mica crystals.  The green Elbaite dominates the upper half, grading from translucent sugary peppermint-green to a 2 mm-deep whiteish-frosted-green termination.  The termination is flat, save for two slight bevels on opposite sides; these are thought to be modifications to the pinacoid as opposed to  contact damage while in-situ.  The prism faces are vertically striated and glassy while the termination is micro-crackled with a greasy lustre.  A beautiful specimen from Coronel Murta.