Tourmaline (naturally bent) - floater

Item Description

Here is a classic, multicolored, doubly-terminated crystal of tourmaline from Connecticut - one of the rarest of American classic gem crystals on the market today, as most are old and relatively few were found compared to today's rich pegmatite finds of tourmaline in other places in the world. I was told that much tourmaline of this style was found in the early 1900s, though there is no way to prove it now and some crystals continued to come into the 1970s, before the place was buried under a condo development. Nevertheless, it IS a classic oldstyle tourmaline from an important East Coast locale, showing a famous "bent" style that was well-documented here and puzzled early researchers. This bending reflects natural break-and-reheal cycles within the pocket as the crystal grew. Seldom do you see the effect so pronounced as in this piece! 21 grams. Valued $2000-2250. ex Lazard Cahn collection, and George Elling collection