Tourmaline on Microcline with Lepidolite (ex Rolando Gioia Collection)

Item Description

A beautiful display piece featuring a predominant, 5.2 cm gemmy multicolor Tourmaline crystal lying against a large beige colored, blocky partial crystal of Microcline that is dotted with sparkling purplish Lepidolite groups. It must be noted that lepidolite is no longer a valid mineral species, and according to the scattered information we found, lepidolite is defined as a mineral in the so-called Polylithionite-Trilithionite series. We're still calling it lepidolite for the purposes of this specimen. The main Tourmaline crystal has an odd termination where it grew against something in the pocket, most likely more Feldspar, but it's not broken. You can see that the main crystal is mostly a vivid blue-green color, with some glowing pink tones near the base, but the underside of the specimen shows some exposed Tourmalines that reveal they are actually "watermelon" crystals with a strong pink core surrounded by the green "rind". A very attractive, colorful, large cabinet association specimen. Valued at $2500. From the collection of Rolando Gioia (a contributor to new definitive book on Brazilian minerals: "Minerais e Pedras Preciosas do Brasil").