The rarest Tourmaline is called Paraiba. Along with being the rarest, it is also the most expensive. We only come across great Paraiba one every few years. The easiest way to see if a Tourmaline is Paraiba is by the neon-like blue and green with traces of copper.

Tourmaline is a gemstone that is available in many, many different colors. From black to deeper browns, to yellow, to blue, to green, to red, to yellow, to pink. Some Tourmaline can even be found colorless. And even better yet, you can find Tourmaline that have many different colors in one gemstone!

This is a tougher question, as it really depends on the color and clarity of the gemstone. With so many colors available in Tourmaline, you can find it at $50 a carat, or more rare Tourmaline can fetch up to $10,000 per carat. True Brazilian Paraiba can hit $50000 per carat

Value is market driven and changes often.  We check prices at trade shows and use the publication “The Gem Guide” which gives wholesale pricing also from worldwide trade shows.  Prices of tourmalines are generally under $500 per carat but in the case of Paraiba can reach $50000 per carat.

Tourmaline can be found all around the world. Some popular areas are Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Burma (Myanmar), Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and the United States (California and Maine). If you are traveling to Africa, these African countries also have Tourmaline: Madagascar, Namibia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Malawi. Steve has traveled quite a bit to Madagascar and Tanzania. Congo is the newest source for fine Tourmalines.

Tourmaline is unrelated to quartz. All characteristics are different from quartz.

The refractive index of tourmaline lies between 1.624 and 1.644.

• Family: Silicates
• Chemical Makeup: (Ca,K,Na,[])(Al,Fe,Li,Mg,Mn)3(Al,Cr, Fe,V)6 (BO3)3(Si,Al,B)6O18(OH,F)4
• Crystal Habit: Parallel & elongated
• Cleavage: Indistinct
• Fracture: Uneven, small conchoidal, brittle
• Mohs: 7-7.5
• Luster: Vitreous, sometimes resinous
• Specific gravity: 3.06
• Density: 2.8 – 3.2
• Pleochroism: Moderate 
• Dispersion: .017
• Crystal System: Hexagonal 

It has a rating of 7-7.5. The higher the value, the harder the stone. With this level, Tourmaline is durable and can be worn in rings, pendants, bracelets and earrings with very few issues.

This is the rarest of all Tourmaline. Neon-like blue and green with traces of copper. It is the incandescent glow that appears to light up the stone that makes this stone very popular, but also very rare. It can be up to $50,000 per carat, depending on the quality and size. Traditionally, this stone has come from Paraiba, Brazil. In recent years, discoveries have been made in Mozambique and Nigeria in Africa known as Cuprian Tourmaline.The value of Cuprian tourmaline is significantly less than Paraiba but still can command prices over $10000 per carat.

Looking at Chakras, Tourmaline energizes and balances Chakras. This can be slightly different depending on the color of the stone. For healing, Tourmaline is great for weight loss. It should be incorporated into one’s clothing. Unfortunately, there are so many uses for Tourmaline, due to the different colors. We highly recommend reviewing Healing with Crystals for a deep look into each.

The closest tourmaline in color to emerald is chrome tourmaline. Both emerald and tourmaline are colored by chromium. Chrome tourmaline is often of higher clarity than emerald but unlike emerald chrome tourmaline is often darker in color than emerald and can be overly dark. The finest chrome tourmalines have a beauty that can outshine most emeralds and are rarer than emerald as the only source is Tanzania.

Hardness and refractive index are there greatest differences. Both come in a myriad of colors that can look similar but to the trained eye the look of each is different.

Tourmaline is commonly the birthstone for October. The generally accepted color for the birthstone is Pink Tourmaline.

Refractive index and strong birefringence is the easiest separation. The dichroscope is helpful as the pleochroic colors are dramatic. Rough crystals are often long and pencil like with line

It has a 7-7.5 on the Mohs scale so it won’t break easily. But there are areas of tension within Tourmaline that can cause it to crack, but this is mainly when jewelers are working on the store or setting it. Not common with every day use.

Water has no effect on tourmaline.

Many are heated to alter the color but it needs to be done slowly. Inclusions within the stone can cause damage when heating.

Heating is the most common but some material particularly Brazilian rubellites are irradiated to alter color.

Fading only occurs with high temperature and is often used to improve the color of overly dark tourmalines. They do not fade under normal wear.

Yes, Tourmaline can be found in blue known as indicolite tourmaline, The blue is also seen in Paraiba Tourmaline. It’s more of a neon green-blue color. While white is not available tourmaline can be found to be clear known as acroite tourmaline.

Paraiba is the most valuable but what is best is a personal thing. Each color has a more desirable shade with the least value being those that are over dark and secondary shades like browns which sometimes detracts from the beauty as in pink tourmalines.

Tourmaline is produced in pegmatites. When the liquids begin to cool, the minerals crystallize and form Tourmaline crystals.

Generally a soft brush and mild detergent is best. Many will be ok in an ultrasonic cleaner if cool but there is still some risk. Steam cleaning should never be used.

While the exact date is known. It is believed that the conquistadors in Brazil first discovered Tourmaline in the 1500’s. What was discovered were green Tourmalines, which they actually thought we Emeralds. It wasn’t until the 1800’s that scientists figured out that these stones were not actually Emeralds, but their own species of mineral, which they called Tourmaline. It is believed that the conquistadors in Brazil were the first ones to discover Tourmaline.

Rarity and high demand make this unique gem so valuable. Few gems have such a distinct character. Watermelon in the trade are the slices that look like a watermelon slice with a green rind and pink center. Most in the public also think of bi-color and tri-color tourmalines as watermelon. These are generally long pencil shape faceted bars with one end green and one end red with some having a clear or yellow center.

Green tourmaline is most expensive when it has some blue in it or appears more like emerald as in the Chrome Tourmaline.

I have seen a few fakes which were hard to believe they were fake because tourmaline has such a distinct look, particularly greens and blues. Gemological testing for refractive index and birefringence is the best separation.

The amount of manganese and copper cause the different colors in Tourmaline.

• Red-Manganese
• Pink-Manganese or titanium
• Green-Iron, vanadium, chromium
• Blue-Iron

Tourmaline has great beauty and is in high demand so if you can buy high quality at a good price it has potential as an investment.  Look for new discoveries that for a short period are often seen at lower prices due to large supply.

Once pink looks red it is rubellite.  Most rubellite will have some violet or pink color highlights but you should look at it and the best description should be red.  G.I.A states that it could have brownish, orange or purplish secondary colors.

Some tourmalines are magnetic particularly those with high concentrations of iron. Of the rough tourmalines that I have in stock I cannot detect any magnetism.  They do carry an electrical charge and if you leave tourmalines in place for a long term they tend to develop a ring of dust around them.

Tourmalines are strongly pleochroic with dramatic color differences when viewed with a dichroscope.