Detailed information
Dimensions
44 x 13 x 13
mm
Locality
Coronel Murta Minas Gerais Brazil
Condition
No recorded repairs
Never common, the red variety of Elbaite tourmaline known as Rubellite is always much sought-after for its beauty as much as its rarity. There have been several significant occurrences of Rubellite in the gem pegmatites of Brazil, notably Cruzeiro mine, but within the past decade the pegmatites at Coronel Murta - another 100 miles further north in Minas Gerais state - have began to produce excellent red tourmaline. This miniature, off matrix floater crystal from Coronel Murta, is doubly-terminated, with a flat pinacoid face at one end and a sloping termination at the other end. Intensely red in colour and very glassy, the upper termination is split by two natural grooves, from where the crystal presumably grew with others across its tip. Lower down the prism, another groove cuts across sideways, creating a slightly sceptre-like form. Inclusion-rich, but transparent to translucent, this gemmy crystal reveals subtle zonation in colour through shades of raspberry-red and strawberry-red. At 4.4 cm in length it is a good size, especially with how glassy and intensely coloured it is.