Dravite - Black Tourmaline (Specimen #100050)

Mineral(s): Dravite, Quartz 

Location: Power's Farm (Bower Powers farm; Ryland Crary farm), Pierrepont, St. Lawrence County, New York, USA 

Size: 10.0 x 8.8 x 4.1 cm 

Provenance: Ray Bernatchez Collection 

Description:  This cabinet-sized specimen is from a classic locality known from the 1850s for brilliant black tourmaline (Dravite). The specimen features multiple, very lustrous, up to 1.1 cm dravite crystals on matrix. The cluster of black, lustrous, equant dravite crystals is associated with rough quartz crystals. There are smaller associated dravite crystals that are incomplete. This piece has a saw cut on the bottom (where the matrix was reduced) and displays nicely. This specimen looks superb and is in very good condition overall with some crystal bruising on the back that does not detract from the specimen. 

Very nice specimen from the American side of the Grenville Geological Province. 

Known as the Ryland Crary Farm in the 1890's, the site is noteworthy for the exceptional specimens of black dravite tourmaline it has produced for more than a hundred years. 

The black tourmaline from this locality was historically called schorl and then iron-rich uvite. However, when the published rules of the recent IMA tourmaline nomenclature committee are followed, the correct species is dravite or uvite, often compositionally zoned with both species present in a single crystal.