Tourmalines

Sri Lanka
Africa
Russia
Brazil
Califomia, Maine, USA
Italy

Tourmalines come in just about every color in the rainbow. Some of the colors have unique jewelry related names.

Pink to Red tourmaline is known as rubellite, and the color is probably from manganese. It is one of the most valuable of the tourmalines when the colors are dark and rich. Large flawless stones are rare, as the pink variety tends to have more flaws.

Greens - there are two distinct families of green tourmaline, one contains trace amounts of chromium (and coincidentally is called Chrome Tourmaline). It has a high value. Other shades of green may run from light green, to dark olive green and they tend to have less value than the chrome, blue or pinks.

Blue - blue tourmaline is known as indicolite and is highly prized. The best stones are pure blue without hints of green or gray. It tends to be of similar color to dark blue topaz. A new variety of light and very lively blue was discovered in Parabia, Brazil, and has achieved the highest prices paid for tourmaline. Analysis of this material show trace amounts of gold in the structure. Blue stones can be found that are large and flawless. They do not suffer from the poor structure found in rubellite.

Yellow and orange tourmaline maintains intermediate value as long as it does not move into the brown region. Clean yellow and bright orange stones are sought after by collectors and find their way into a small amount of commercial jewelry.

Brown and orange-brown stones are quite common and are not highly valued.

There is a special variety of tourmaline that shows a pink/red interior, and is surrounded by a green exterior "rind". It is called "watermelon" tourmaline, and is often cut and polished flat across a crystal face. It is sometimes cabbed, and even faceted.

Some faceted tourmalines show color changes from top to bottom. Most often these stones are cut into long, rectangular shapes and may display two or more color changes down their long axis. They are usually called bi-colored or tri-colored stones.

Finally, some pinks, yellows, and greens, may show chatoyance, and produce cats-eye cabochons.

This gemstone has an endless number of faces, and for that reason it suits all moods. No wonder that magical powers have been attributed to it since ancient times. In particular, it is the gemstone of love and of friendship, and is said to render them firm and long-lasting.