What Is Tourmaline Jewelry?

Unlike jewelry featuring other gemstones, tourmaline pieces come in more than one or two colors and hues. There is the rubellite tourmaline, which runs the gamut of red tones into purple. Verdelite denotes green and turquoise-colored versions of the gem. Dravite features the familiar ochre and brown tones. It is not unheard of to find bright yellow pieces. Indicolite starts at the violet end of the spectrum and then crosses into the greenish blue portion of the color chart.

The quantity of blue as opposed to green determines the gem’s membership in the verdelite or indicolite groups. Some jewelers resort to heating their pieces, which helps the blue and green properties to stand out more. It is interesting to note that clarity of the gems depends in large part on the tourmaline variety. For example, the rubellite type is inexorably linked to presentations of inclusions, which are largely absent from verdelites. This sometimes helps experts to determine the original look of a jewelry gem after a jeweler has treated it.

The inner structure of the gems reveals tetrahedral rings, which identifies the tourmaline as an a-centric rhombohedra borosilicate. Because of the crystals’ lengths, jewelers like to cut the gems into slim finishes, which works great for brooches, oblong pendants and larger rings. Of course, consumers can also find other cuts, which is frequently the case when the tourmaline is mistaken for a different type of gemstone.

Jewelry-grade tourmaline comes from mines in California, Eastern Russia, Namibia and Brazil. Additional metals found in the ground largely determine the coloration of the stones. Titanium and iron lead to a green coloration as well as some blue hues. Manganese is present in stones with yellow and reddish properties. Brazilian mines have led to a rich discovery of all types of tourmaline. Brazilian Paraiba stones feature blue and green colorations, which sets them apart from stones found elsewhere.

Looking back over the course of history, it is clear that tourmaline jewelry is among some of the most misunderstood examples of wearable art. When 15th century Spanish conquerors ran across a green version of the gem, they mistook the gems for emeralds. Other colorations have similarly been mistaken for rubies, sapphires and other stones. It is therefore virtually impossible to adequately mark tourmaline’s rightful spot in history. What is known, however, is Empress Dowager Cixi’s fondness for California tourmaline. During her lifetime between 1835 and 1908, California mines sent plenty of gems to her.

Although tourmalines are not rare, some tinges are more difficult to find than others. A while ago, the Smithsonian added a 40.10-carat tourmaline to the National Gem Collection. Mined in Mozambique, it is a unique purple color that had not been heat-treated to transform the gem into a stone with the sought-after blue tone.

Peter Suchy Jewelers is located at 1137 High Ridge Road in Stamford Connecticut and we carry many tourmaline pieces. We invite you to visit our showroom to browse a variety of estate and vintage jewelry.

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