u/4242star4242

This stellar, doubly terminated Tourmaline crystal hails from the legendary Rocket Pocket (2001 Discovery) from my all time favorite mine, the Pederneira Mine in Minas Gerais, Brazil!! This pocket has big sentimental value to me. I have always loved astronomy since I was a kid, also having been born in the year of 2001, when I heard there was the “Rocket Pocket”, discovered in 2001, from my favorite mine, and it is in my favorite color (green/blue), it has been an immediate goal of mine to not only get a great piece from this discovery, but an excellent example of one. And this one definitely checks all the boxes to be counted as an excellent example from the find, with all crystals shown being doubly terminated and perfect without a ding, Wilber, or a nick on any terminations/sides/surfaces, that already makes it stand out against the 300-350 crystals that came from this pocket. Besides that it has absurdly excellent quality/mirror luster, spectacular saturated neon color/zoning, sharp and aesthetically pleasing horizons/terminations, great gem zones, and a killer size at 9 x 3 cm!!! I feel absolutely blessed to now own this piece in my collection and it is truly my favorite in my collection now :) Thank you to my friend Mark Cross for letting me acquire this dream come true piece from his collection, I am so grateful.

Tourmaline
Rocket Pocket (2001 Discovery)
Pederneira Mine
Minas Gerais, Brazil

Case Update!!

Just wanted to share an update of the top specimens from my mineral collection as a young collector, still just starting my journey but feel unbelievably blessed to have what I have and am so grateful :) I will attach below the ID of each crystal with their locality, top row to bottom row, left to right.

Top row (left to right): 1. Tourmaline (Washington DC Pocket, Cruzeiro Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Noted that this is an ex Will Johnson & Dexter Morrison piece and is pictured in his Mineralogical Record feature book “Flawless Beauty”, in the ‘My Life In Minerals’ section, Figure 2, page 287) 2. Rainbow Congo Tourmaline (Ex Chad Kaatz collection) 3. Congo Tourmaline 4. Tourmaline (Morro Redondo Mine, Coronel Murta, Minas Gerais, Brazil) 5. 2024 Discovery Berbes Fluorite

Middle row: 1. Tourmaline (Aricanga Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil, it is to note I only know of 5 of these public and private, and only 3 of this level of quality/perfection) 2. Tourmaline (1/9 of the main discovery, from the Tuco’s Pocket, Babanla Mine, Nigeria) 3. Tourmaline (Rocket Pocket 2001 Discovery, Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil, it is to note this is one of the few perfect DTs from the legendary pocket, ex Mark Cross collection) 4. Tourmaline (Blue Gem Pocket 2006 Discovery, Pederneira Mine, Brazil) 5. Tanzanite (Merelani Hills, Tanzania, ex Rocky Batchelor collection)

Bottom row: 1. Tourmaline (Cranberry Blue Pocket 2011 Discovery, Pederneira Mine, Brazil, the Cranberry “V”, ex Mark Cross collection) 2. Tourmaline (Elbaite from the type locality from Elba Island, Italy, it is to note this one is exceptionally gemmy and good quality for the locality) 3. Illinois Fluorite (Minerva No.1 Mine, Illinois) 4. Congo Tourmaline 5. Tourmaline on Quartz (Blue/Green Pocket 2005 Discovery, Pederneira Mine, Brazil, ex Mark Cross & Pat Benson collection) 6. Tourmaline (Violet Pocket 2006 Discovery, Pederneira Mine, Brazil, ex Will Johnson, Dexter Morrison & Ben Schultz collection)