Large Maine tourmaline from the 72 find

A whopping 64 grams 3.2 x 2.3 inch x 2" thickness appx this is by far the biggest for sale to the public all the rest are in the museum
First discovered at the Dunton Quarry in Newry in 1902, watermelon tourmaline crystals are composed of a large core of deep red tourmaline surrounded by a rind of green tourmaline. George Howe, a renowned Maine naturalist gave the gem its name.
The gems range from black and white to shades of red, green and blue. But the most sought-after hue by jewelers and consumers alike are the green and pink bi-colors and green, pink, and white watermelon tourmalines most often cut in triangular geode slices that mimic the fruit when sliced.

But that wasn’t the big windfall in the history of Maine tourmalines. That would come in 1972, when George Hartman, Dean McCrillis, Dale Sweatt and contract miner Frank Perham mined more than a ton of gem-quality tourmalines near the top of Plumbago Mountain, in Newry, Maine.