Awesome lot of a New Discovery of Uvite Tourmaline coming from Wata Poore, Afghanistan. This is the material that is analyzed in the Current Gems & Gemology issue. This material is mostly transparent with some opaque stones; however, some crystals do have some nice gemmy areas though nothing really seems to be supportive of faceting. There is some nice cabbing material in here but this lot is far better suited for the collector as this is a rare find! Most of this lot is comprised of crystals that are very well terminated at least at one end and this material fluoresces a nice chalky yellow to greenish yellow. This is particularly great for all the Fluorescent Mineral collectors.

Please note that these crystals are found in a Talc like matrix and that matrix is clearly evident on some of the crystals. I know there are VERY FEW people selling this material as only a limited amount was produced before mining was halted. It would be quite conceivable that crystals from this lot could retail for $100.00+ as this material is very unusual.

I only have a limited amount of this material and have broken it down into 3 lots. The 3 lots were broken primarily by clarity and by who would most benefit by it: Collectors, Cabbers, or Faceters. This was the lot with the lowest clarity; however, it has the largest crystals and average stone weight. This is the lot more suited for Collectors than Faceters & Cabbers.

1. Uvite Tourmaline is rarely available in facet grade and this is an awesome new discovery of Uvite from Wata Poore, Afghanistan. Afghanistan has long been known to produce the traditional blues, pinks and the neon blues and greens; however, this Uvite find is an unusual find for the region.

2. All Afghan Tourmaline is exhumed from primary deposits and as a result mining costs are considerably higher due to dynamite expenditures and traveling expenditures to get to remote mining areas. It is also interesting to note that since all Afghan Tourmaline is from primary deposits most rough will usually have sharp crystal faces.