ELBAITE with QUARTZ and LEPIDOLITE

SPECIMEN DESCRIPTION

Standing 6.7 cm tall, 8.3 cm wide and 8.4 cm deep, this magnificent gemmy strawberries and cream Elbaite Tourmaline is from the renowned Coronel Murta Pegmatite area of Minas Gerais in Brazil. Several Elbaite crystals of zoned light strawberry to pinkish cherry red with intermittent colourless zones for a criss-cross array on top of a mixed Quartz and Lepidolite mica pegmatite matrix. Standing out and above from these is a single terminated crystal, varying from translucent to occasional gemmy patches and a highly reflective, bright glassy lustre. Coronel Murta covers an area of 813 square kilometres and is located in the north-east of Minas Gerais, by the Jequitinhonha River. Mineralisation is controlled by the vast pegmatitic bodies covering this vast area, with Elbaite being the district's star attraction.