Gemstone Information
One of the most versatile of gemstones, tourmaline is available in every color, from colorless to black. You can find every tone from pastel to dark, and even with one or more colors appearing in the same stone. It truly is a wondrous and fascinating stone!
Known for centuries, tourmaline first gained popularity when the Dutch began to import it in the early 17th century from Sri Lanka . They gave the gem a Sinhalese name, Turamali, which is believed to mean stone with mixed colors.
Tourmaline is actually the name of a group of related mineral species. In gemological practice, individual species names are not used. Instead, all are simply termed tourmaline. Tourmaline commonly comes from Tanzania , Madagascar , Brazil , Australia , Sri Lanka , the U.S. , and Russia , plus other countries.
Color: Color is the major characteristic for tourmaline. This stone is found in more hues, shades, and nuances than any other gem. Here are some of the most common varieties that are recognized in the gem trade.
- Rubellite – Varying in color from pinks to deep reds resembling ruby, rubellite frequently exhibits more beauty and sparkle than far more expensive ruby. Many gems in the 17th century Russian Crown jewels, originally thought to be "rubies", are actually rubellite tourmalines. They make excellent alternatives to rubies and offer superb value.
- Indicolite – From bright blue hues to bluish green colors, indicolite tourmaline is rarer than other tourmaline colors, and high quality specimens are regarded as quite collectable. It is often heat treated to create a more attractive, lighter colored stone.
- Chrome – Chrome tourmaline is green, but is considered different from the regular greens as it derives it rich green color from trace elements of chromium. Found in East Africa , chrome tourmaline has developed a small but loyal following, due to its rarity and attractiveness.
- Bi-Color – Variations, zones and color bands in tourmaline are often purposefully accented with the cutting style to show bands and color zones in the gem. Occurring in uncountable colors variations, these are often seen in long acicular crystals.
- Watermelon – Bi-color tourmalines which show a green skin and a red core; these are often cut as slices
- Canary – Bright yellow tourmaline from Malawi .
- Paraíba – A rare blue-green tourmaline containing copper, Paraiba tourmaline can be found in amazing bright neon hues and can command thousands of dollars per carat. Found in a single area in Paraiba , Brazil , it is generally found in comparatively small sizes for tourmaline. Recent finds of copper content tourmaline in Nigeria have also produced identical-looking bright neon tourmaline.
- Cat's Eye – Chatoyant tourmaline in a variety of colors. It is often seen as in a rich green.
- Color-Change – Changes from green in daylight to red in incandescent light.
Cut: Tourmaline cuts are as varied as its color. With tourmaline's strong pleochroism, darker tourmalines are cut to display the lighter of the two pleochroic colors. Gems cut with this orientation are often rectangles and rectangular emerald cuts because of the elongated nature of tourmaline crystals. Tourmalines of lighter color are typically oriented with the table facet perpendicular to the c-axis, to display the richest color possible. Thus, they are often cut as rounds, triangles, trillions and ovals.
Interesting Fact: An unusual characteristic of this stone is that tourmaline can be electrically charged by heating and cooling, or also applying pressure, such as rubbing the stone. For a long time tourmaline was known in Europe as aschentrekker (ash puller) as the stone was used by the Dutch to pull the ash out of their meerschaum tobacco pipes.
