Elbaite with Quartz and Albite

This is a first rate miniature from the Claude Yoder collection. It is marked as schorl, and certainly looks to be, but a curious mind with a flashlight might discover the strong lavender and green zones in one of the crystals (very hard to capture in photo). The symmetry of the water clear quartz and the platy gem albites is stunning. I can’t quite capture how good this piece is.

Locality: Shigar, Gilgit, Northern Areas, Pakistan

Composition: sodium lithium aluminium boro-silicate