Tourmaline    Aracuai, Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil.  Ex. Harold L. Dibble collection.  Finding miss-sharpen tourmaline crystals is not all that uncommon but one of this size and high quality is truly unique.  It was one of the centerpieces of Harold's collection.  This singly-terminated crystal is 28 cm long with the primary crystal being 3.5 cm wide and 2.1 cm thick on average.  It is very high in luster and one side crystal was clipped off insitue, long ago.  I'd describe it as damage-free.  It displays great from any direction taking on the appearance of a Samurai sword.  The curve is not what is commonly seen…. it is NOT created from a series of healed breaks (unless they are microscopic).  It is just simply curved... smooth, symmetrical and spread over the entire length of this long crystal!  The termination is complex and generally fibrous in form.  All the prism faces show moderate striations.  This is one of those specimens that collectors simply go, "Wow"! and stare blindly at.  Even better in-hand.  $4,500