Curved crystal

This Green Tourmaline & Elbaite crystals on flat Muscovite Mica and Calcite matrix weighs 202.9ct or 40.5g. The cluster has two prominent Green Tourmaline crystals that are 21/22 mm long. Forming second, the slightly shorter Elbaite crystal has been forced into a rare curve by its Calcite crystal host. Throughout the matrix there is a mass of more Tourmaline crystals, mostly a pale green, with spots of pink. The cluster is UV reactive. This specimen was sourced from the gem-fields of Afghanistan for Rocks and Things Store in 2023 by Lawrence Riaz.

Elbaite is a multi-coloured variety of tourmaline that includes striking gems like green, pink, blue, and watermelon tourmaline. It is an igneous mineral that almost always forms in granite pegmatites. Elbaite is a complex lithium-rich borosilicate mineral. Elbaite can be any colour of the rainbow, and individual crystals can be multi-coloured. Black is rare. Elbaite usually forms as heavily-striated elongated rods or prismatic crystals. Blue and Green Elbaite crystals are often pleochroic, which means that the crystal appears darker in colour when viewed along its vertical axis, compared to viewing along its horizontal axis. Elbaite is UV reactive.

Elbaite balances energies, stimulates creativity, and enhances vitality.

Colour: multicoloured – green, pink, red, blue, etc.

Location: Africa, Brazil, Afghanistan, Namibia, Pakistan, USA

Rarity: rare (especially gem-quality)

Mineral group/class: silicates, tourmaline group

Crystal system/habit: trigonal

Transparency: transparent, translucent

Lustre: vitreous

Fracture: uneven to conchoidal

Hardness: 7–7.5

Formula: Na(Li_1.5Al_1.5)Al₆(Si₆O₁₈₎(BO₃)₃(OH)₃(OH)

Chakra: varies by colour

Emotional: energy balance, joy, emotional flexibility

Mental/intellectual: creativity, focus, imagination, new beginnings, willpower

Spiritual: alignment, awareness, heart opening, protection, purification, transformation