Description

Detailed Description

A super specimen, this doubly-terminated zoned elbaite tourmaline crystal is sitting on a nest of contrasting white albite crystals (or, displayed vertically, enclosed in a thick cloak of albite crystals). The main termination faces at the steeper termination are glassy, while the rest at both ends have a frosty appearance. The colour zoning in this crystal is interesting – for the most part the crystal is dark green, and then at either termination, there are more transparent zones, at one end the zoning is a very pale blue colour, and at the other it is virtually colourless but with traces of pale pink. In excellent condition – no damage to the steeper termination, a tiny chip at the bottom/end termination – as I would orient this, it would be at the back of the specimen, and if one were to orient vertically, it would be beneath the specimen.  A beautiful elbaite tourmaline!

About These Stak Nala Tourmalines

Since the 1980s, elbaite toumaline crystals from the pegmatites at Stak Nala have been known worldwide. Particularly distinctive and prized when associated with albite crystals, these tourmalines are usually colour-zoned, with dark green to black-appearing centre sections, with zones of green, pink, blue or colourless zones  at the terminations – often, a closer inspection with strong light or a strong reflective background are needed to show these zones. The doubly-terminated crystals from Stak Nala are super examples of hemimorphism (the crystal forms present at one termination are different from those at the other termination). I was fortunate to acquire these from a member of the family that mines them.