From: Narsaq, Ilimaussaq Complex, Kujalleq, Greenland.
 
 
Sample with 2.0 x 1.5 x 1.0cm and aprox. 14 carats.
 
 
Tugtupite is a very rare and valuable silicate mineral, renowned for its unusual optical properties and closely associated with Greenland, its type locality. Originally discovered in 1962 in Tugtup agtakorfia, the best gem-quality specimens come from the famous Ilímaussaq intrusive complex, near the town of Narsaq in southern Greenland. 
 
 
Tenebrescence (Photochromism): Tugtupite changes color when exposed to sunlight or ultraviolet (UV) light. A specimen stored in the dark may appear whitish or pale pink, but when exposed to UV or sunlight, its color intensifies to a deep pink or vibrant crimson red. This change is reversible.
 
 
Extreme Fluorescence: Under short-wave UV light, this mineral glows with an incredibly bright cherry-red or neon pink color. It is widely considered one of the most spectacular minerals in the world for collectors of fluorescent minerals. It occurs in alkali-rich, silica-poor pegmatitic hydrothermal veins, frequently associated with analcite and other feldspathoids.