Elbaite - "cat's eye ' Toumaline
stock #AX-7-540
Virgem do Lapa
Minas Gerais,
Brazil
9.1 x 2.8 x 1.7 CM (cabinet)
price: $775
Spring 2019
Silky "catseye" luster in these bi-color crystals makes a complex but impressive cluster. Most every crystal in this specimen is doubly terminated with one end pointed the other a flat basal termination. In impressive condition this is an older (25 years plus) Brazilian gem. The darkest colored areas are mostly opaque but the majority of the prisms are translucent and on thin edges transparent. With backlighting the crystals all show several areas of zoning, but in normal display these seem to have two main zones and silky texture is pronounced. Most of the faces have many tiny acicular crystals attached at jumbled angles, adding a nice sparkle in person. The longest crystal in this cluster is 8.5 CM. An excellent example of this style and habit not often available.
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