The Afgan tourmaline is some of the nicest facet rough available I think, the colors are just a very bright pastel and the nicest blues and greens often mingle softly. Most of this lot has a definite prominent blue that is difficult to describe- just extrememly attractive and bright.
I just wish i was a better photographer! I simply cannot get the soft pastel neon color or the right shade of blue/blue-green ... if you have seen the best Afgan tourmaline, you know what this should be. All have good saturation, C axis is darker than AB, but usually not dark, but open. Our measurements exclude unusable odd-shape areas! Couple shots of the pieces on this page below:
Toward the end of the listings are some pieces with lighter color or VSI/SI - even these are spectacular rough and should cut fine eye-clean gems at a lower cost.
MORE OF THIS TOURMALINE ON PAGE 2