What is the most common color of tourmaline?

The most common tourmaline color is black, but the mineral occurs in all colors of the spectrum.

Is green tourmaline rare?

They are rare and much sought-after. Green tourmalines are very popular as precious stones among women, but many men like wearing them too.

What is the best color of tourmaline?

Bright, pure tones of red, blue and green are generally the most valued, but the electric vivid green to blue shades of copper-bearing tourmaline are so exceptional that they are in a class by themselves.

Is purple tourmaline rare?

Most colors are fairly common, but pure blue, red, orange, yellow, and purple stones are rare. Such stones usually command higher prices.

What color tourmaline is most rare?

The rarest and most expensive tourmaline is the paraiba variety -- a neon-like blue or green that is colored by traces of copper. It was first discovered in the Brazilian state of Paraiba in 1989.

Learn All About Tourmaline - A Guide To Tourmaline's Many Colors

Are Darker tourmaline more valuable?

Hence, when judging a Tourmaline for color quality – the more intense/vivid the color saturation, the more valuable the stone.

Is tourmaline more expensive than emerald?

Emerald is, carat-for-carat, much more expensive than tourmaline when both are of the same grade. What is this? And the truth is that lower grade tourmaline is most often sold as specimens to collectors, while even opaque emerald is usually cut to increase its value.

Why is pink tourmaline so expensive?

The value of Pink Tourmaline depends on a variety of factors including its Origin, Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat weight. Color is the major consideration while deciding the cost of Pink Tourmaline. Stones in bright pink hues often command a higher premium.

How many colors of tourmaline are there?

They can be green, blue, or yellow, pink to red, colorless or color-zoned. Even slight changes in the composition can cause completely different colors.

Are red and pink tourmaline the same?

Rubellite holds its color under various lighting sources and appears red throughout. If the color changes from pink-red to pink, then it's a tourmaline.

What is blue tourmaline called?

Indicolite, also known as Blue Tourmaline, is a very rare complex magnesium iron boro-aluminium silicate hydroxide mineral. This Tourmaline variety gets its color from tiny iron impurities and has only a few known localities throughout the world. Brazil, Nigeria, and Afghanistan have the most important active deposits.

Is green tourmaline expensive?

Most expensive are the Paraíba tourmalines, which may reach tens of thousands of dollars per carat. Chrome tourmalines, rubellites and fine indicolites and bi-colors may sell for as much as $1000/ct. or more. Other varieties are available for prices between $50–750/ct., depending on the richness of the color.

What is purple tourmaline called?

Siberite - Occasionally used to describe purple Tourmaline. Verdelite - Occasionally used to describe green Tourmaline.

Where is tourmaline most commonly found?

Localities. Gem and specimen tourmaline is mined chiefly in Brazil and many parts of Africa, including Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, and Namibia.

How can you tell real tourmaline?

For example, a piece of genuine tourmaline may have a pale pink section, a vivid green section, and a lustrous yellow section all in a single neat row. Tourmaline's many colors remain separated, for the most part, and rarely mingle the way they do in iridescent minerals like ammolite, opal, or pyrite.

Is watermelon tourmaline real?

Genuine Watermelon Tourmaline is one of the most rare and collectible gems, and despite looking as if it can't possibly be a real gem, it is 100% natural.

Does all tourmaline change color?

There are Tourmalines from red to green and from blue to yellow. They often have two or more colors in each crystal. Some Tourmalines change their color when the light changes from daylight to artificial light, and others show the light effect of a Cat's Eye. No two Tourmalines are exactly alike.

What is green tourmaline called?

Green tourmaline is also known as verdilite. Green Tourmaline is a unique miracle of color. Often two or more colors are found in a single tourmaline crystal making a bi-color tourmaline. Also rare are tourmaline gems which appear to change their color and cat's eye green tourmalines.

What color is tourmaline birthstone?

The color of the tourmaline birthstone is multi-colored ranging from pink (the most common one) and green to blue and purple, or a combination.

Is pink tourmaline common?

While not as rare as its sister the Paraiba tourmaline, pink tourmalines are still incredibly rare. Pink tourmaline is still the most sought-after variety of tourmaline, which in itself is a very rare mineral, thus making the market for it much more competitive.

Is watermelon tourmaline the same as pink tourmaline?

One of the most common combinations is green and pink, but many others are possible. Watermelon tourmaline is pink in the centre and green around the outside. Crystals of this material are typically cut in slices to display this special arrangement.

How can you tell the difference between pink and pink tourmaline?

Is tourmaline precious or semiprecious?

A tourmaline is a semi-precious gemstone that comes in more colors and color combination than any other gemstone, staying true to its name, which comes from the Sinhalese word “turmali,” meaning “mixed.” Due to the wide range of colors, tourmalines are often mistaken for many other gemstones.

Is tsavorite a tourmaline?

They are known as chrome tourmalines because they are colored by Chromium, the same element that gives Tsavorite and emerald their rich green looks. Chrome tourmalines are quite rare and are only found in minor deposits in East Africa, and rarely exceed 2cts in size.

Is red tourmaline valuable?

Its color can vary from red to violet to pale and dramatic pink. Its name comes from the Latin word “rubellus” which means reddish. It is the most prized and expensive member of the tourmaline family because of its beauty and rarity.