5.15-Carat California Tricolored Tourmaline

$2,060.00

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A beautiful and large tricolored tourmaline from the famed Himalaya Mine in Mesa Grande, California; 5.15 carats.

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SKU: ET1344 Categories: ,

Description

The Himalaya Mine in Mesa Grande, California is world-famous for its production of gem-quality multi-colored tourmalines.  First discovered over 100 years ago, it rose to prominence in the early part of the 20th century, supplying tourmaline to the Dowager Empress of China.  When she passed away and the Boxer Rebellion ensued, the Chinese market for tourmaline collapsed and the mine became inactive for a long time.  In the 1980’s and 1990’s Pala International once again operated the mine, producing large quantities of tourmaline, but once again the mine is mostly idle.  Currently there is only minor hand mining done in the old tunnels, finding pockets passed over by the more recent work.  This gem comes from some of that mining; this rough was mined in late 2015 from a small pocket.

Bicolored tourmalines look best when faceted with simple designs that highlight the colors and don’t blend them.  A simple emerald cut does the job, although the angles have been optimized for tourmaline to maximize the brilliance.  This would make a gorgeous stone for a simple pendant as the shape is elongated to follow the natural shape of the original gem crystal.  While the photo does not show it too strongly, the gem fades from a dark magenta pink to a pale yellowish-green, with a zone of pink in between.  The gem weighs 5.15 carats and measures 20.3 x 5.4 x 4.9 mm.

Additional information

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Video Request

Although we do our best to take the highest quality images, sometimes it can be difficult to envision how it will look on your hand. We can take a video of up to four gems side by on the hand to help you compare them and see how they perform in daylight. Please provide the following information, and include the SKU numbers or links to the stones you would like to see a video of.

Please note that we don’t do 360-degree videos as colored gems are optimized to be viewed face up, and because the current technology is such that none of the 360-degree systems we have tested provides the accurate color.  Our desire is to present the most honest and accurate color possible!

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Natural Gemstone Jewelry & Loose Gemstones at Earth’s Treasury

Welcome to Earth’s Treasury! If you’re looking for beautiful precision-cut loose gemstones or custom-designed natural gemstone jewelry, you’ve come to the right place. Earth’s Treasury features one of the widest selections of ethically sourced colored gemstones available online. We work closely with professional artisans who craft beautiful jewelry using gemstones that come directly from the mine to the market. Sapphires, rubies, emeralds, tourmalines, tanzanite, aquamarine—we have it all!

At Earth’s Treasury, we love the process of working with clients to help make their custom natural gemstone jewelry vision come to life. Whether you prefer a classically styled piece or a truly unique custom design, we can make it happen. We will work with you through the design, prototyping, casting, and production processes to craft your dream piece of jewelry.

While our collections contain colored gemstones from all over the world, our true passion is for North American gemstones. We work with American miners to source stones such as the brilliant Montana sapphire, gorgeous Oregon sunstone and colorful tourmaline from California and Maine. There is a remarkable diversity of colored gemstones available right here in America, many of which are rarer and more valuable than diamonds!

If you have any questions about our collection, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re here to help you through the process of finding the perfect natural gemstone jewelry or loose gemstones online.