Multicolor Tourmaline with Doubly-Terminated Quartz (ex Rolando Gioia Collection)

Item Description

At first glance, this might look like a black (Schorl) Tourmaline with Quartz, but if you flip the piece over you can see that the exposed core of the main Tourmaline crystal reveals that it's actually a watermelon Tourmaline with a glowing pink center and a thin green "rind" which transitions into the dark black exterior. The main Tourmaline crystal is terminated, but the other Tourmalines are contacted. In addition the piece is beautifully highlighted by a sharp, lustrous, GEMMY, colorless doubly-terminated Quartz crystal lying perpendicularly across the Tourmalines. A cool association specimen from an undisclosed locality in Minas Gerais. From the collection of Rolando Gioia (a contributor to new definitive book on Brazilian minerals: "Minerais e Pedras Preciosas do Brasil").