Extraordinary Mineral Specimen - Pink Tourmaline on...

Magnificent natural sample of pink tourmaline in white quartz matrix, from Brazil, one of the world’s historically most important areas for the production of tourmalines of collectible quality. The specimen presents as a compact block of white quartz matrix, traversed and coated by numerous prismatic pink tourmaline crystals. The crystals show the typical elongated, striated development of tourmaline, with parallel and sub-parallel growth in several zones of the specimen. The contrast between the vivid pink of the tourmalines and the milky white of the quartz creates a very scenographic, elegant, and mineralogically readable whole. The surface of the sample preserves a remarkable richness of details: elongated crystals, natural broken sections, partial terminations, small crystalline aggregates, and zones where tourmaline appears dispersed in the matrix in a more granular way. This alternation makes the piece interesting to observe from multiple angles, because each side tells a different phase of crystallization. Pink tourmaline generally belongs to the elbaite group of tourmalines, in particular the elbaite series, a lithium- and aluminum-rich variety that can develop very varied colors, from green to blue, from yellow to red-pink. The pink hues are linked to the presence of chromophore elements such as manganese, capable of imparting to the crystal those warm and intense nuances that make these specimens particularly sought after. Samples like this form mainly in granitic pegmatites, rock environments derived from the final cooling phases of silica-rich magmas, with water and rare elements. During this final phase, residual fluids concentrate elements such as lithium, boron, aluminum, sodium, manganese, and iron. It is precisely the presence of boron that makes the formation of tourmaline possible, a chemically complex mineral and highly sensitive to the environmental conditions in which it grows. In pegmatites, crystallization often occurs in cavities or fractures where mineralizing fluids have the space needed to deposit well-developed crystals. White quartz represents the main siliceous matrix, while tourmaline develops in prismatic crystals, often longitudinally striated, which can grow embedded in quartz or emerge from the matrix with strong relief. In this specimen one indeed observes this geological relationship: pink tourmaline is intimately associated with quartz, a sign of growth that occurred within the same pegmatitic system. Brazilian pegmatites have yielded crystals of exceptional quality, both gemmological and mineralogical, and continue to be a fundamental reference for collectors, scholars, and enthusiasts.

Stima:€2,900

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