Tourmaline (Chromium-bearing)

Item Description

The Merelani Hills of Tanzania are well-known for Tanzanite, but there are many other beautiful minerals found in the area. Starting in the late 1990s, there was a small discovery of excellent intense green colored Tourmalines, and their strong color was due to chromium content, which is not often seen in Tourmalines. This piece is a classic example featuring a sharp, lustrous, deep green colored trigonal crystal, free of matrix. When backlit, the Tourmaline shows a bit of gemminess and glowing green color internally. The color is quite saturated, even in a smaller sized crystal, which just goes to show the strength of chromium as a chromophore.