The Mutuca Mine lies within one of Brazil’s most celebrated tourmaline-producing regions, an area renowned since the 1970s for vibrant, gem-quality crystals. Best known for fine rubellite and indicolite, Mutuca rarely yields collectible specimens on matrix. About a decade ago, however, the mine produced a small and remarkable pocket of just five known scepter tourmalines. Among them was this extraordinary blue-to-green crystal, an exceptionally rare color combination for sceptered tourmaline growth.
Tourmaline crystals typically form attached to a host rock, known as the matrix. Over millions of years, circulating hydrothermal fluids can dissolve the surrounding, softer minerals, freeing the crystals and sometimes partially hollowing them. In rare cases, such as this Mutuca specimen, the fluids eroded the outer portion of the crystal just enough to produce a distinct scepter form without fully detaching the two sides of the crystal. Adding to its rarity is the color: unlike the more typical pink-and-green or red-and-green scepters, this crystal displays a striking blue-to-green transition, the result of subtle changes in trace-element chemistry during growth. It is an exceptional example from a limited and highly distinctive occurrence.