Detailed Description

I would display this one the way it sits in the first photograph – the long prism faces are so sharp and bright and the symmetry is striking. The crystal also stands up for display if you prefer – there’s a bit of edge wear visible when standing. This is one of the few crystals in the lot in which deep brown colour is visible under a glassy surface in one place (it’s subsurface beneath the top long prism face in the first photograph). Super crystal.

About These Dravite Tourmalines

These dravite tourmalines from Serra Branca, Brazil, are sharp crystals!

All of the crystals are doubly-terminated. The prism faces have a bright lustre, like black opaque glass. Under bright lights (such as the photography lighting), a few subsurface glints of internal brown are visible in some, but under normal lighting, to the eye the crystals look essentially black and opaque. The termination faces vary, with many showing a slightly silky lustre and delicate texture. Most of these are crisp, simple crystals (they really look like idealized crystal models!) and some have a bit more complexity to them. None of these crystals are perfect all-around – they have a little edge wear or minor nicking in some place or another – however, these are high quality specimens and they are the best of the lot.

These specimens were collected in the 1990s and they were squirrelled away in Brazil. Frank Melanson had analysis done to confirm that they should be labeled dravite.