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Tourmaline Gemstone Varieties
There are nine distinct mineral species in tourmaline mineral family, 1) Rubellite: pink or red variety of tourmaline gemstone, this is one of the most valuable and desirable gemstones of the tourmaline family. 2) Indicolite: this gemstone includes tourmaline of all shades of blue,
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from the blue of sapphire to bright blue-green of turquoise. Indicolite tends to be dark in its natural look, therefore this gemstone is often heat treated to become lighter in color. 3) Schorl: This is the black variety of tourmaline family, it is rarely used as gemstone except as bead material. Schorl was widely used in Victorian England to make mourning jewellery as it is much tougher and more enduring than jet gemstone. 4) Dravite: is the yellow-brown to orange-brown variety of tourmaline gemstone family. its coloring agent is magnesium and it shows very strong dichroism effect which means it shows two different colors when viewed from different angles. Dravite gemstone is named after Drave district of Carinthia. 5) Achroite: is colorless variety of tourmaline gemstone family (Achroite is Greek
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for colorless), 6) Bi- and Tricolor tourmaline: Many tourmaline gemstones consist of two, three or more colors. The most well-known combination is the watermelon tourmaline, in which the crystal has a pink center and a green rim so it looks like a watermelon in cross section. 7) Paraiba: It was first discovered in 1980 in Jose de Batalha mine in Brazil. The color ranges from green to blue and lilacs. 8) Verdelite: is the green variety of tourmaline gemstone family. 9) Uvite: is black, brown, and green variety of tourmaline gemstone family
Tourmaline Gemstone History
Tourmaline has been used in jewellery since 1703 when the Dutch began to important them from Sri Lanka. The name is derived from the Sri Lankan word tura mali, meaning the stone of mixed colors.
Tourmaline Gemstone Sources
Tourmaline occurs as an accessory mineral in acid rocks, such as granite, particularly in pegmatites, and also in metamorphic rocks, such as schists and crystalline limestones; it has often resulted from the action upon the rocks of hot acid vapours emitted from below the earth's crust. High quality tourmaline usually come from, USA (California), Brazil, Africa, Afghanistan. You can find our interactive map for gemstone of the world Here.
Tourmaline Gemstone Treatment
Tourmalines are usually heat-treated to enhance the color of the gemstone. Heat removes the pink or red component from tourmalines, producing colorless stones from pinks and reds, blues from some browns and purples. Very pale pink, green or blue tourmalines frequently become a deeper pink to a red on irradiation.
Tourmaline Gemstone Healing Properties and Benefits
Tourmaline healing properties and Benefits: Calming, protection, focus, and balance, attracts inspiration, compassion and tolerance.
Chakra: Heart
Birthstone: October
Birthstone: October
Tourmaline Gemstone Basic Properties Table
Chemical Formula | |
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Color | Colorless, pink, red, yellow, brown, green, blue, violet |
Hardness | 7-7.5 on the Mohs scale |
Crystal System | Trigonal; long crystals with a triangular cross-section and rounded sides, definite striation parallel to axis |
Refractive Index | 1.614 - 1.666 |
Transparency | Transparent to opaque |
Cleavage | indistinct |
Fracture | Uneven, small conchoidal, brittle |
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