Elbaite

specimen number:
2063284

location:
Himalaya Mine, San Diego Co., California, USA

description:
A beautiful grouping of three attractively interconnected lustrous and mostly gemmy pink and light green color zoned elbaite crystals. Minor lepidolite is present. This is naturally crystallized all around with no points of attachment. The bottom terminations are all naturally healed. This is in super condition. Good clusters from this locality have never been plentiful. The total weight is 41.94 g. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.

Located in the Mesa Grande district of San Diego County, California, the Himalaya Mine is one of the most celebrated gem pegmatite deposits in North America. Operating from the late nineteenth century into the modern era, the mine was originally exploited for commercial tourmaline to meet the immense demand of the Chinese Imperial Court, later transitioning into a world-famous source for fine mineral specimens. The underground workings intersect complex granite pegmatite dikes rich in lithium, beryllium, and boron, producing legendary gem pockets containing brilliant pink and green tourmaline, bright quartz crystals, lepidolite, and translucent albite that remain highly prized by collectors worldwide.

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