KUNZITE
KUNZITE is
a comparatively new transpar-ent gem discovered in America about 1903;
it is a lilac-coloured spodumene, which, upon the suggestion of the
mineralogist Charles Basker-ville, was named kunzite, in honour of Dr.
George Frederic Kunz, because of his services to the scientific world
in the gem branch of mineralogy. The honour accorded Dr. Kunz by
mineralogists in accepting the name is enhanced because of the beauty
of this new gem mineral. The first crystals of this unaltered
lilac-coloured spodumene were discovered a mile and a half northeast
from Pala, San Diego County, California. The vicinity of this discovery
was already of great interest to students of gem minerals because but
fifty feet away from the spot is a famous deposit of tourmaline from
which specimen crystals remarkable for the unusually large size and
great beauty have been taken,
while half a mile away is a celebrated rubellite
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