Tourmaline

A dynamic miniature specimen featuring a tourmaline crystal partially embedded in a milky white quartz matrix. The crystal is largely dark schorl, displaying strong vertical striations and a lustrous surface, but transitions near the top into a pleasing translucent olive-green cap. The crystal terminates cleanly with a well-formed triangular pinacoidal termination typical of the trigonal tourmaline crystal system. Small blades of cleavelandite are present along one side of the piece. The base of the crystal is not terminated and shows minor fracturing, though this is subtle and not noticeable when the specimen is displayed.

This attractive bi-coloured tourmaline comes from the famous Stak Nala locality in the Haramosh Mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Crystals from this region are well known among collectors for their beautiful colour zoning and aesthetic crystal forms, often showing transitions between dark schorl and green tourmaline varieties.