If you visit your local museum and view their minerals gallery, there is every chance that there will be at least one fine tourmaline specimen on show. With their superb crystal form and myriad of crystal colours, tourmaline has long been a ‘must have’ mineral amongst collectors of every level. In our new Exclusive Minerals auction ending on 22nd April (2018) we have a unique opportunity for every collector: a huge multi-coloured elbaite tourmaline crystal. Read on to learn more about what makes this specimen stand out.
There is actually a large group of tourmaline minerals with particular names, differentiated on the basis of crystal colour or internal chemistry – schorl is dark green/ black and rubellite is deep pink. However elbaite tourmaline is arguably the best known and most attractive variety, with individual crystals often displaying more than one colour.
In our new Exclusive Minerals auction we are proud to include a superb example of a huge, multi-coloured elbaite tourmaline crystal, 17 cm in length! The name 'elbaite' actually comes from the Italian island of Elba, which is this mineral type locality. However this stunning specimen comes from the Paprok Mine in Afghanistan which has produced many amazing specimens in recent years.
17 cm multi-coloured elbaite tourmaline crystal specimen as seen on our Exclusive Minerals auction
In addition to being extremely large, this example also displays a beautiful deep green colour with shades of pinks and reds delicately spread throughout it. The specimen has fine crystal terminations and a number of twinned, smaller ‘side-car’ crystals sprouting from its base.
Our expert's estimated this word-class specimen around €21,495 - €26,975
This truly is a world-class specimen which would sit well in any fine mineral collection, either private or publicly owned.
Bidding on this beautiful specimen ends on 22nd April (2018), so if your collection is missing something like this, don’t miss out on a rare opportunity to fill that gap!
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