Chinese Tourmaline Specimens
Only recently have tourmalines of any quality begun to trickle out of China. Rarely do they have any color and even rarer are mineral associations with other desirable minerals like members of the beryl family. Scoop these up if you get the opportunity because they are anything but common.
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OKE-416 Tourmaline Yunnan, Wenshan Prov., China. I was thrilled to acquire this unusual specimen! Great tourmalines from China are as yet rather rare. Especially ones of this high a quality. This fine green specimen measures 6.1 cm long and is fully terminated on all areas of both ends. The crystals are hoppered and translucent to transparent depending on what area of the crystals you are observing. The color is a vibrant green. Numerous tiny rider crystals are sprinkled on the back of the piece but it is dominated by two primary crystals. I have this priced way too low by all comparable standards but I got a good deal on it so have at it. Oh, did I mention that there is no damage what so ever and the specimen actually stands on end for display! Wow. 450$
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OKE-127 Elbaite, Quartz, Feldspar and Mica Yunnan, Wenshan Prov., China. This is a special and rather unique piece. I only found the single specimen at the 2007 Tucson Show and what a winner it is! Measuring 8.5 x 6.5 x 5.5 it is a substantial specimen with a large, almost black, tourmaline wrapped in feldspar, quartz crystals and interesting mica plates. There are lots of tiny thinner tourmalines (to 1.5 cm) which show a nice green color. The big primary crystal is 8 cm long and 2.2 cm thick. There is a thin ding which does not distract from the specimen’s appearance and certainly does no take away from the importance of this piece. The quartz crystals are clear and well formed. The feldspars are bright white and the mica forms thick flat books which are composed of aggregates of tiny, translucent, silver white crystals. What a nice specimen this one is even though I have it poorly positioned in these photos! 800$
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OKE-184 Tourmaline and Feldspar Yunnan, Wenshan Prov., China. This single crystal is beautifully formed and single terminated. High luster and highly striated. The surface (approx 1/3rd ) is highly fluorescent which likely indicates some alteration. Mirror like terminations and prism. Nice! 95$
