Natural Tourmaline Stone

Tourmaline is a beautiful semi-precious gemstone that can be found in a variety of colors. Its beautiful shine and the rich color of the stone makes it a lovely mineral for jewelry pieces. It is a popular and affordable gem. It is quite a soft stone registering 7 – 7.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness. The refractive index is 1.615 through 1.655 and the specific gravity is 3.02 through 3.26. Tourmaline was officially registered in 1912 in the American Association of Jewelers.

Tourmaline is mined mainly in Africa and Brazil but it is found in several places around the world. In United States, they are found primarily in Maine and California. They are also mined in Nigeria, Tanzania, Nambia, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. All colors of tourmaline are faceted into gems, it is cut into cabochons, triangles, trillions, rounds and ovals. Their color can be enhanced by heat treatment.

Each color of tourmaline is given its own name and is considered a different variety. The blue variety of the gemstone is called Indigolite, pink to red variety is called as Rubellite, brown tourmaline is called Dravite, Siberite is tourmaline of a purple hue whereas the black variety is known as Schorl. The wide variety of coloration is due to its variable chemical composition. Trace of elements that can be found in tourmalines are vanadium to manganese, chromium, iron, titanium and sometimes even copper.

According to ancient legend, tourmaline is the gemstone of many colors and this is because of its travels along rainbows where it captured the beautiful colors of the rainbow. For centuries tourmalines have adorned the jewels of royalty. The last empress of China, the Empress Dowager Tz'u Hsi, valued the rich pink colors above all other gemstones. Tourmaline became valued in Europe in the early 1700s when the Dutch began to import it from Sri Lanka.

Some tourmalines occasionally may have surface-breaking fissures that are filled with resins, without or with hardeners. Care must be observed with those gems. Avoid exposing the stones to harsh abrasives and strong chemical solvents. You can use a very soft toothbrush or cloth and mild soap to clean the gemstone.