Elbaite (var: Cuprian Elbaite) (ex Rolando Gioia Collection)

Item Description

The famous copper-bearing Elbaites from Paraiba, Brazil are world famous for their astoundingly intense neon color. The finest electric blue hues ever seen in Tourmaline have come from this area. They carry many nicknames from copper-bearing to Cuprian Elbaite to simply "Paraiba Tourmaline". Most examples we've handled over the years are loose singles off matrix, so it's very exciting to have a matrix specimen to offer in the auction. This attractive thumbnail piece features a gorgeous, gorgoues blue (and slightly green) color, prismatic crystal of Cuprian Elbaite measuring 1.1 cm, smartly perched on Quartz matrix. Like many of the crystals from the area, this piece does not have textbook crystal form, so it's incomplete, but the color combined with the matrix make up for it. If you've ever wanted a nice representative example of this hard to find material, then look no further. The piece is easily 30+ years old (found in the 1980s), and as we've seen over the years, very few pieces appear on the market now. From the collection of Rolando Gioia (a contributor to new definitive book on Brazilian minerals: "Minerais e Pedras Preciosas do Brasil").