Awesome lot of Olive Green to Steel Gray large Tourmaline Facet Rough from Nigeria! This is super clarity material with the bulk of it being eye-clean water worn crystal sections. Roughly 65% of the material has a closed C axis while the remainder has an open to dark C axis. There is a broad range of colors in this lot and it is a great parcel to pick up for getting a taste of the variety of Tourmaline Nigeria has to offer. There are dichroic stones in here as well as some unusual steel and yellowy colors. The rough is shaped for high yield and even though the material overall is dark I'm confident that many stones should brighten up significantly with proper orientation and complementary cutting. Many of the stones in this lot will need steep C axis angles and shallow cuts to bring out the best color and lighten up the material. I have been told that heating significantly enhances the color of this material; however, I haven't attempted any treatments as of thus far. The process is relatively simple and I have seen Steel Grays in the past go to bright Neon Greens and Minty Greens.

We have priced this to move and I'm confident it will be difficult if not impossible for you to find better prices on this material! This is the material that you see retailing for $5.00+ per carat! This is top faceting grade material having every bad stone picked out. We are confident you will get several stones from this lot that go over 3 carats at the eye-clean+ level. Most of the stones in this lot will cut eye-clean or better with the bulk being able to facet 10x clean. Practically every stone in the lot is a nice and chunky crystal section capable of giving above average yield.

1. Nigeria has steadily risen to be a powerhouse country for Tourmaline production and is now set to eclipse many traditional sources in sheer volume of material. Overall Nigerian material, like most African material, has the brownish overtones, darker colors and lacks the vibrancy and life that Afghan (and some Namibian and Nigerian) Tourmaline is known for; however, many Nigerian and African stones can cut beautiful finished gems that rival Afghan material. From my experience I don't think quality is even questionable as I still haven't seen any Tourmaline Floor me like the Best Afghani material in its natural crystal form! Afghan Tourmaline can cost an arm and a leg and Nigerian material is a great affordable substitute for everyone to have fun faceting some Tourmaline.