Rubellite on schorl

The Khetchel site in Burma has been renowned for decades for its finds of tourmalines with a unique botryoidal form. It is the only known site in the world that produces these tourmaline “mushrooms.” Despite the very unfavorable geopolitical situation, mining of these remarkable crystals has been successfully resumed after a long hiatus, much to the delight of the collecting community. In most cases, the crystals have a schorl core overgrown with red or pink rubellite. This specimen exhibits only a slight hint of a botryoidal shape; however, its exceptional feature is its size, which is well above average given the conditions at the site.