Gerhard Wagner’s collection of extraordinary tourmalines will be up for bid at Heritage Auctions in Dallas on June 7. 432 lots in all with some valued at more than $500,000 perfectly kept for decades,will be offered for the first time. Top examples from the collection include an amazing Tourmaline on Tourmaline with Quartz from the Porcupine Pocket of the Pederneira Mine, Brazil, estimated at $500,000+, the sublime Tourmaline on Cleavelandite from the Grandon Pocket of the Pederneira Mine, Brazil, estimated at $450,000+ and the ‘Flower of Pederneira,’ an impressive find of emerald and burgundy tourmaline on quartz, with lepidolite and cleavelandite, from the Proud Pocket of the Pederneira Mine, Brazil, estimated at $450,000+.
The June 7 auction also creates an opportunity for non-collectors to learn something about the beauty and value of the specimens not just as minerals, but as magnificent pieces of fine art.
“This collection…illustrates the fact that the beauty of…high-quality mineral specimens make them objects comparable to the most refined forms of art,” writes Dr. Federico Pezzotta, Mineralogy Museum Curator in Milan, Italy in the book, The World of Tourmaline, which accompanies the auction.