An exceptional gem : Bright pink tourmaline - 78.41 ct. Tourmaline King Mine, Tourmaline Queen Mountain), Pala, Pala District, San Diego Co., California, USA. photo Heritage Auctions

One of the legendary Tourmaline mines of San Diego County, California, is the Tourmaline King mine. Discovered at the turn of the 20th century, the Tourmaline King was a gem rich pegmatite that yielded a huge quantity of pink Tourmaline crystals - much of which went to the Empress of China. Stories abound about the size and breadth of the pockets found in the mine's heyday. By 1920, the Tourmaline King had over 1200 feet of tunnel. Since that time, there has been no production from this mine for many decades - so long ago that tales of specimens and gems from the Tourmaline King have passed into almost folklore status. So imagine the surprise of the collector, when examining an old, not very good mineral specimen from the Tourmaline King, realized that he was actually holding a large, gem crystal! The exterior faces of the Tourmaline prism had been so scarred that they had hidden the gemmy interior for years. When taken to an expert gem cutter, it yielded this enormous, bright pink, pear shaped gemstone - weighing a whopping 78.41 carats. Although there are numerous characteristic inclusions, they do not detract from the impressive nature of this stone, as it measures a significant 37.4 x 24.5 mm and is extremely well fashioned. Estimate: $28,000 - $32,000. 

Heritage Auctions. 2012 May 20 Natural History Signature Auction- New York