Skip to product information
  • A superior Nigerian tourmaline specimen featuring a large doubly-terminated floater crystal with dramatic color zoning from vibrant green through gem-clear achroite to blue-green and rich pink sections. The remarkable crystal displays exceptional transparency, pristine terminations, and a complex progression of colors that make it a significant example of the latest finds from this prolific locality.
  • A superior Nigerian tourmaline specimen featuring a large doubly-terminated floater crystal with dramatic color zoning from vibrant green through gem-clear achroite to blue-green and rich pink sections. The remarkable crystal displays exceptional transparency, pristine terminations, and a complex progression of colors that make it a significant example of the latest finds from this prolific locality.
  • A superior Nigerian tourmaline specimen featuring a large doubly-terminated floater crystal with dramatic color zoning from vibrant green through gem-clear achroite to blue-green and rich pink sections. The remarkable crystal displays exceptional transparency, pristine terminations, and a complex progression of colors that make it a significant example of the latest finds from this prolific locality.
  • A superior Nigerian tourmaline specimen featuring a large doubly-terminated floater crystal with dramatic color zoning from vibrant green through gem-clear achroite to blue-green and rich pink sections. The remarkable crystal displays exceptional transparency, pristine terminations, and a complex progression of colors that make it a significant example of the latest finds from this prolific locality.
  • A superior Nigerian tourmaline specimen featuring a large doubly-terminated floater crystal with dramatic color zoning from vibrant green through gem-clear achroite to blue-green and rich pink sections. The remarkable crystal displays exceptional transparency, pristine terminations, and a complex progression of colors that make it a significant example of the latest finds from this prolific locality.
  • A superior Nigerian tourmaline specimen featuring a large doubly-terminated floater crystal with dramatic color zoning from vibrant green through gem-clear achroite to blue-green and rich pink sections. The remarkable crystal displays exceptional transparency, pristine terminations, and a complex progression of colors that make it a significant example of the latest finds from this prolific locality.
  • A superior Nigerian tourmaline specimen featuring a large doubly-terminated floater crystal with dramatic color zoning from vibrant green through gem-clear achroite to blue-green and rich pink sections. The remarkable crystal displays exceptional transparency, pristine terminations, and a complex progression of colors that make it a significant example of the latest finds from this prolific locality.
  • A superior Nigerian tourmaline specimen featuring a large doubly-terminated floater crystal with dramatic color zoning from vibrant green through gem-clear achroite to blue-green and rich pink sections. The remarkable crystal displays exceptional transparency, pristine terminations, and a complex progression of colors that make it a significant example of the latest finds from this prolific locality.

ELBAITE

Jagindi District, Jagindi, Jema'A, Kaduna State, Nigeria
7.2 x 2.3 x 2.1 cm
$3,250.00
$3,250.00
Shipping calculated at checkout.

ABOUT THE SPECIMEN

True eye candy of a tourmaline specimen: a large, doubly-terminated single crystal with vivid color zoning from end to end. At the top is a sharp termination with vibrant green coloration, which gradually fades to a more subtle blue-green hue. In the middle is a band of achroite (colorless tourmaline) which possesses gem clarity, giving way further down to another section of light blue color. Approaching the other end, the color turns to a rich pink, with another thin layer of green all the way on the pinacoidal termination. This crystal comes from newer finds in Nigeria, and the size and gemminess makes it a real standout.

 

VIDEO


MORE INFO

Nigerian elbaite occurs within a 400-kilometer-long NE-SW trending pegmatite belt formed during the Pan-African orogeny, with mineralization dated between approximately 565-450 Ma during post-collisional extension. The pegmatites intrude Precambrian schist belts and migmatite-gneiss complexes as discordant dikes, with lithium enrichment developing during extreme fractionation of granitic melts. Jagindi District specimens display polychromatic crystals with vivid color zoning - combinations of pink, green, blue, and colorless (achroite) zones within single crystals reaching 2-4 cm. Doubly-terminated examples show particularly intense coloration from green to pink terminations with clear zones between. These tourmalines formed in lithium-enriched pocket zones alongside muscovite, lepidolite, and spodumene during pneumatolytic crystallization. What distinguishes Nigerian elbaite is the exceptional gem clarity combined with dramatic color transitions; specimens rival Brazilian material for transparency while showing distinctive zoning patterns. Most collector material emerged during finds in the 2000s-2010s, though the majority went to gem cutting rather than specimen markets. Production continues sporadically from small-scale mining operations throughout the pegmatite belt.