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Malagasy Liddicoatite Tourmaline
Liddicoatite is the calcium rich member of the
tourmaline group, and was approved by the IMA in 1977. In the United
States and Europe, the majority of colored tourmalines available are of Afghan,
Pakistani or Brazilian origin, and these are nearly always of the elbaite
variety.
Madagascar is home to some of the most
stunningly colored tourmalines, yet good specimens are not seen for sale nearly
as often as their Asian or South American counterparts. Liddicoatite
itself is reasonably uncommon on the market; a quick internet search produces
slices, but very few crystals. A glace at Mindat supports this: there are
nearly 2,300 images of Elbaite, but fewer than 100 of liddicoatite.
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MDL1 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
6.9x 1.3x 1.1 cm
$550
A zoned tourmaline crystal, with
light pink and yellowish regions, and a pale yellowish cap.
This color combination is not one
that is likely to appear at very many other tourmaline producing
localities.
There is a chip on the back, visible
in the bottom-most photograph.
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MDL2 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
4.0x 2.9x 3.4 cm
$335
A gemmy yellowish-green liddicoatite
crystal, with a sharp termination, on matrix. There is also a
reddish region near the base.
Matrix liddicoatites are extremely
rare, and this crystal is particularly gemmy for a matrix specimen.
Most matrix pieces tend to be of the darker, mostly opaque variety.
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MDL3 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
4.4x 2.8x 2.1 cm
$295
A cluster of light pink liddicoatite
crystals from Madagascar.
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MDL4 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
3.5x 3.0x 1.8 cm
$185
A bright pink, terminated tourmaline
crystal on a quartz matrix. There is a small ding near the termination,
but it is hardly visible in person.
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MDL5 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.3x 1.0x 0.6 cm
$225
A deep red, terminated tourmaline
crystal. Red tourmalines are highly sought after, and only occur at
a handful of localities worldwide-- central Madagascar and Jos, Nigeria
are two that come to mind. This color is virtually unheard of from
Pakistan/Afghanistan, and is encountered very rarely in Brazil.
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MDL6 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.6x 2.3x 1.2 cm
$290
A BRIGHT magenta colored tourmaline
from Madagascar. This specimen is double terminated, and is a
complete floater.
The color is one of the brightest
pinks I have ever seen in a mineral, and it puts its Afghan counterparts
to shame This is particularly true when you look down into the
crystal; you can get a glimpse of this color by looking at the termination
in the bottom photograph.
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MDL7 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.1x 1.2x 0.6 cm
$200
A BRIGHT magenta colored tourmaline
from Madagascar.
This piece is better in person-- the
color puts its Afghan counterparts to shame
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MDL8 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.2x 1.1x 0.7 cm
$200
A BRIGHT magenta colored tourmaline
from Madagascar. This specimen is double terminated, and is a
complete floater.
This piece is better in person-- the
color puts its Afghan counterparts to shame
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MDL9 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province,
Madagascar
2.1x 1.3x 0.9 cm
$140
A cluster of parallel, blue-green
liddicoatite tourmalines with a brown cap.
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MDL10 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
YELLOW!
Sahatany Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province,
Madagascar
1.85x 0.7x 0.6 cm
$160
A gemmy little bicolored
thumbnail. The top half of the crystal is yellow. Yellow is
probably one of the rarest colors for tourmaline-- there was one famous
occurence at Stak Nala, Pakistan many years ago, but other than that,
yellow tourmalines do not turn up very often.
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MDL11 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
1.8x 1.8x 1.2 cm
$185
A semi-watermelon tourmaline from
Madagascar. The reason I call it a semi- watermelon is because it
does have a green outer later and a pinkish core, but because of the
gemyness of the crystal, the colors get blended together to give the
crystal a beautiful, yet distinctly un-watermelon appearance.
The faces arevery lustrous
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MDL12 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.35x 0.8x 0.7 cm
$95
A sharply terminated and very
lustrous brown liddicoatite. As with the previous specimen, there are
hints of other colors when viewed in the light.
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MDL13 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.2x 0.8x 0.7 cm
$135
A terminated, reddish-pink
liddicoatite crystal. Red tourmaline is highly sought after, and
only occurs at a few localities world wide.
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MDL14 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.3x 0.85x 0.7 cm
$120
A deep red-pink colored tourmaline
from Madagascar.
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MDL15 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.9x 0.85x 0.85 cm
$120
A deep red-pink colored tourmaline
from Madagascar. Better than the pictures show.
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MDL16 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.3x 1.35x 0.9 cm
$145
A magenta colored tourmaline from
Madagascar--again, terminated and very gemmy. The color is spectacular...
there is little else that can be said.
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MDL17 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
1.8x 0.7x 0.7 cm
A terminated, reddish-pink
liddicoatite crystal. red tourmaline is highly sought after,
and only occurs at a few localities world wide.
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MDL18 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.3x 0.9x 0.65 cm
$135
A magenta colored tourmaline from
Madagascar--again, terminated and very gemmy. The color is spectacular...
there is little else that can be said.
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MDL19 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.2x 1.1x 0.95 cm
$100
A zoned tourmaline from Madagascar. There is a chip on the
termination, visible in the bottom right photograph.
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MDL20 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.1x 0.8x 0.7 cm
$95
A bi-colored liddicoatite with a
sharp, deep red termination.
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MDL21 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.6x 1.0x 0.5 cm
$95
A terminated, pinkish-red
liddicoatite from Madagascar.
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MDL22 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.5x 1.1x 0.9 cm
$95
A bi-colored liddicoatite with a
sharp, deep red termination.
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MDL23 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.5x 0.7x 0.35 cm
$78
A very gemmy, brownish pink
liddicoatite from Madagascar. Gemmy.
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MDL24 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.2x 0.65x 0.6 cm
$75
A terminated, pinkish-red
liddicoatite from Madagascar. |
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MDL25 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.5x 0.55x 0.55 cm
$78
A terminated, pinkish-red
liddicoatite from Madagascar. Like many of the other tourmalines,
this one has a darker band near the base.
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MDL26 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.8x 0.5x 0.5 cm
$88
A small, but brightly colored
reddish-pink tourmaline from Madagascar.
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MDL27 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.5x 1.0x 0.9 cm
$70
A bicolored liddicoatite from
Madagascar. Terminated, but with many internal fractures and clouds.
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MDL28 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.2x 0.45x 0.45 cm
$50
A greenish-yellow toumaline from
madagascar, terminated and with a dark phantom. Small, but
interesting.
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MDL29 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
1.2x 1.1x 1.0 cm
$45
A terminated, deep red crystal of
liddicoatite tourmaline. This color only occurs at a handful of
localities worldwide.
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MDL30 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province,
Madagascar
2.5x 1.7x 2.0 cm
$80
A singly terminated, bicolored
liddicoatite tourmaline on a quartz matrix.
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MDL31 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province,
Madagascar
3.9x 2.6x 2.6 cm
$88
A dark liddicoatite tourmaline
with a pink cap, on a singly terminated quartz crystal.
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MDL32 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.7x 0.6x 0.7 cm
$60
A cute little thumbnail, with a
temrinated, zoned liddicoatite on a scrap of quartz. Small, but
pretty.
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MDL33 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
3.1x 1.1x 0.9 cm
$70
A bicolored liddicoatite from
Madagascar. Terminated, but with many internal fractures and clouds.
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MDL34 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
4.3x 1.0x 0.85 cm
$110
A paler, bicolored liddicoatite from
Madagascar. Terminated, but with many internal fractures and clouds.
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MDL35 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
3.8x 0.8x 0.6 cm
$120
A zoned liddicoatite from
Madagascar. Terminated, but with internal fractures.
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MDA31 Tourmaline
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
3.5x 0.6x 0.6 cm
$185
A beautiful multicolored tourmaline,
with spectacular zoning and a pristine termination. There are bands of
magenta, faint olive green, and even colorless areas.
It is not a huge crystal (the big
ones never display colors like this, in any case), but it possesses a
spectacular combination of colors that only Madagascar can produce.
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MDA8 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
3.0x 1.4x 1.2 cm
$395
As I stated before, Malagasy
tourmaline is amongst the most vibrantly colored in the world. The color
of this specimen rivals that of the specimens from the 1978 Jonas Mine
Pocket in Brazil, and its depth surpasses anything that I have seen from
Afghanistan.
The crystal is terminated, and very
gemmy.
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MDA1 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Tsarafara,
Sahatany Valley, Sahatany Pegmatite Field, Ibity Area, Vakinankaratra (Betafo)
Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
5.6x 3.4x 3.5 cm
$1950
In the United States, Europe and
Japan, the majority of available tourmaline is of Afghan or Pakistani
origin, largely thanks to the number of Pakistani nationals who export the
material. This is followed closely in terms of quantity by specimens from
Brazil, Pala, etc.
Madagascar is home to some of the
most stunningly colored tourmalines, yet good specimens are seldom seen
for sale.
This piece is one of the few matrix
tourmalines that I was able to acquire. There is no shortage of minerals
in Madagascar, but good pieces are few and far between. Although this
piece is not gemmy, the wine-red color is among the best available from
Madagascar, and out of literaly thousands of tourmalines that I saw, this
specimen had the largest terminated and undamaged crystal that was
available on matrix.
I would estimate that about 99.8% of
Malagasy tourmalines are sold as single crystals.
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MDL36 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
4.9x 1.8x 1.8 cm
$185
This is a large, terminated crystal,
but it is a bit rough and is priced accordingly. I still think it's
a very good price for a tourmaline of this color, particularly for a
liddicoatite. The color is a darker purple in person.
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One of the more typical
forms of liddicoatite found in Madagascar are dark crystals with pinkish-red
terminations. Below are several such specimens.
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MDL37 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
5.3x 4.6x 2.2 cm
$165
A cluster of dark liddicoatites, a
couple of them with pinkish terminations.
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MDL38 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
5.4x 3.2x 2.2 cm
$165
A cluster of dark liddicoatites, a
couple of them with pinkish terminations.
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MDL39 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
3.4x 3.1x 2.5 cm
$145
This is my favorite of the darker
specimens with pink terminations. This is an excellent miniature,
somewhat better than the photos show, and an excelent example of the
species.
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MDL40 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.5x 1.8x 2.8 cm
$78
A dark liddicoatite, with a pink
termination.
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MDL41 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
3.1x 1.7x 1.2 cm
$65
A dark liddicoatite, with a pink
termination.
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MDL42 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
3.9x 1.0x 0.7 cm
$78
A dark liddicoatite, with a pink
termination. This crystal is bent, and has a small , terminated
quartz crystal at the termination.
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MDL43 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
3.5x 1.9x 1.0 cm
$78
A pair of sharp, intergrown
liddicoatites with pink terminations.
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MDL44 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
3.7x 1.3x 1.25 cm
$85
A sharp liddicoatite crystal with a
pink termination.
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MDL45 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
3.3x 0.9x 0.6 cm
$65
A dark liddicoatite, with a pink
termination.
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MDL46 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
3.0x 1.1x 0.75 cm
$88
When viewed in normal lighting, this
crystal looks like one of the regular, darker crystals. When held to
a light bulb or other light source, internal bands become visible.
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MDL47 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
3.1x 1.0x 0.8 cm
$88
When viewed in normal lighting, this
crystal looks like one of the regular, darker crystals. When held to
a light bulb or other light source, internal bands become visible.
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MDL48 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite
Sahatany
Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar
2.8x 1.6x 1.4 cm
$65
A dark liddicoatite crystal with an
elongated, pointed termination. This crystal actually has a pink
core, though this is not visible from the outside.
This type of crystal is generally
used to produce the slices that we have all seen (I will be posting some
of those later.)
This is a rare opportunity to obtain
one of those slicer tourmalines that has not been sliced, and what's more,
it displays the beautiful, characteristic crystal habit of liddicoatite.
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