Tourmaline a Modern Gemstone

When discovered at source Tourmaline is usually in long slender crystal shards with different variations of colour running along it's length, finding a crystal with only one colour is a rare occurence.

This wonderfully coloured jewel is a rarity in itself as it is the only gemstone to have three sided prisms in it's crystal structure.

This complex Borosilicate was first introduced to the Europeans by the Dutch who started to import this gemstone in 1703 from Sri Lanka.

The Dutch called the stone Turamali which means "mixed colours" and they are found in Igneous and Metamorphic rocks.

Depending on the impurities that are present the stone can be a variety of different colours.

Bi Coloured Tourmalines... many stones consist of two or three different colours, and sometimes more.

The variety that springs to everybody's mind is the one known as watermelon, this will normally have a vibrant pink centre representing the flesh of the fruit and be surrounded by a lush green that depicts the rind.

Variations into the combination of colours is very large and a good clean colourful specimen will carry a high price.

Good pink and green stones are found in Africa and Brazil.

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Because this modern gemstone comes in such a variety of colours it is a designers dream as the possibilities are endless.

Here are a few of the more well known ones headed by the name referred to by jewelers.

Indicolite... are all the different shades of blue stones, from the deep blue of a Sapphire through blue greens and blue turquoise.

A high proportion of these gemstones are usually very dark in colour and a common practice is to heat treat them to lighten the colour and make them more appealing to the buyer.

Of the standard colours a good blue Indicolite is the most expensive.

A violet blue variety known as Siberite is found in Siberia.

Verdalite... is Green Tourmaline with the most common colours being a yellowish green or bottle green.

The most valuable and sought after Verdalite is Emerald or chromium green.

Yellow varieties do exist but they are usually a peachy off yellow rather than a good sharp yellow.

Africa, Brazil and Sri Lanka offer good specimens.

Rubellite... is varieties of red Tourmaline, the most desirable being the Ruby red.

A good Rubellite will have a lively pink to red colour and these stones are getting more and more popular.

A lot of lower grade stones are heat treated to intensify their colouring.

Africa and Brazil are good sources of the red gemstones as well as Madagascar and USA.

Dravite... magnesium impurities are responsible for the colour of these stones, which are normally brown yellow or brown orange.

Darker brown gems are often heat treated to lighten them up and make them more appealing.

Very often these stones change colour when viewed at different angles making them a popular jewel.

Dravite is found in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico as well as California within the United States.

Schorl... the black variety of the modern gemstone and in the most plentiful supply is not used as a gem any longer.

However in Victorian times it was a very popular gem that was worn to mourn the dead.

Paraiba Tourmaline... was first mined in the 1980s in the Brazilian state of Paraiba.

This was a wonderful discovery as the mine churned out never before seen intense green, lilac and turquoise blue stones that became known as neon Tourmalines and then Paraiba.

Demand was huge for these gemstones and now that the original source has become exhausted and only a limited amount remains, people are paying very high prices for these jewels.

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