Tourmaline
Tourmaline is found in every color of the rainbow and also sometimes shows more than one color in a single crystal. Vivid reds, hot pinks, verdant greens and blues abound in this marvelous gem variety. Earth tones as varied as a prairie sunset are available. When multiple colors are found in a single gemstone, it is called "bi-color" or "parti-color" tourmaline. One color combination, pink and green, is called watermelon tourmaline. Some tourmalines are fibrous and show chatoyancy (cat’s eye effect).
Pink tourmaline shares birthstone status with opal for the month of October. Tourmaline is found all over the globe, including Brazil, Afghanistan, California, Madagascar, and Mozambique.
Enhancement - Care and Cleaning - Lore and History - Special Characteristics
Enhancement
Dark blue, blue-green, and green tourmalines are occasionally heated to lighten their color. Red tourmalines, also known as rubellites, and pink varieties are sometimes heated or irradiated to improve their colors. Heat and irradiation color enhancement of tourmalines is permanent.Occasionally, some tourmalines may have surface-breaking fissures that are filled with resins, with or without hardeners. Care must be observed with these gems. Avoid exposing them to harsh abrasives and strong chemical solvents.
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Care and Cleaning
Tourmaline has a Mohs hardness of 7 to 7.5, and is durable and suitable for everyday wear. Clean with mild dish soap. Use a soft toothbrush to clean behind the stone where dirt can collect.
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Lore and History
Tourmaline's name comes from the Sinhalese word turmali, which was the name for yellow zircon. The story goes that a parcel of tourmaline was sent to Amsterdam mistakenly labeled turmali in the early 1700’s, and the name stuck.Because its colors mimic those of other gems, tourmaline was often misidentified in the ancient world. Some of the "rubies" in the Russian Crown Jewels are, in fact, tourmaline. The Empress Dowager Tz'u Hsi, the last Empress of China, loved pink tourmaline so much that she was buried with her carved tourmaline pillow. At the turn of the century, she bought almost a ton of tourmaline from the newly discovered Himalayan Mine in California.
Tourmaline is thought to inspire creativity and has been used extensively as a tailsman by artists and writers.
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Special Characteristics
Tourmalines can become electrically charged when they are heated and then allowed to cool. Then, they have a positive charge at one end and a negative one at the other. This is known as "pyro-electricity." The gemstone also becomes charged under pressure, the polarity subsequently changing when the pressure is taken off.