Stellate Zircon in a Paraíba Tourmaline
While examining a 1.17 ct blue-green Paraíba tourmaline with a fiber-optic light, the author observed a remarkable set of stellate inclusions (see above). The striking suite consisted of one larger cluster with scattered smaller needles trailing behind it. Reflective lighting revealed needles breaking the surface with a different luster from the host tourmaline. Raman spectroscopy identified the needles as zircon.
Tourmalines form in a pegmatite environment and contain inclusions that reflect this type of growth, most notably fluid inclusions, transparent crystals, and tubular inclusions. Zircon has been observed in tourmaline as prismatic or rounded crystals. The zircons in this 1.17 ct Paraíba tourmaline were atypical as they were needles and in a stellate formation. This type of zircon morphology has been previously documented in morganite (Winter 2013 Lab Notes, pp. 253–254), but stellate inclusions, specifically those composed of zircon, are a rather unique find. The stellates in this Paraíba tourmaline make the gemstone quite unusual.
