EXCEPTIONALLY LARGE CALIFORNIA TOURMALINE. ...

Description

EXCEPTIONALLY LARGE CALIFORNIA TOURMALINE
Tourmaline Queen Mine, California
One of the best sources of exceptional tourmalines in the world happens to be in California; the Pala mining district located outside of San Diego has produced a few rare but exceptionally beautiful tourmalines that grace the collections of museums around the world. The mining claims in Pala were first worked in the early 1900's but abandoned in 1911 because the cost of mining outweighed the profits from the gems. Mining picked up in the late 1960's and tourmaline crystals of exceptional color and quality were found in hidden vugs throughout the mining district. This gemstone originated from the Tourmaline Queen Mine and was meticulously cut by German artists from Idar-Oberstein in the 1980's; the resulting piece is an extraordinary large and clear pink tourmaline gem. The clarity of this gem is distinguished and although the cut is not perfect; it's still quite good for its impressive size of 82.83 carats.

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