As promised, here are two photos of some nice furta-cor (parti color) tourmalines encountered in Teófilo Otoni, in March 2009.
The top photo shows a selection from a rather pricey salada. [The price was high because the seller owed the buyer a bundle of money, so he over-priced the stones.] The golden tourmaline in the front is considered furta-cor. If you look closely, you can see that it is gold and pink. From the side it is greenish, if I remember correctly (always a good question).
The bottom photo shows what is known as "millenium" cut around here. Any cut on the bottom of the stone that is remotely similar is called a millenium cut. Just the local jargon. These furta-cor tourmalines were actually much paler in color than the photo would have you believe. In fact, Natasha would have bought them if their colors had been stronger, but based on her experience in trying to resell such stones in Moscow, these lighter colors are not very salable (at least with regard to tourmalines -- morganites and aquamarines are a different matter entirely).
Most of these tourmalines are probably from the region of Araçuaí, Minas Gerais.
Copyright © 2009 N. Tenney Naumer -- All rights reserved.
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