Tourmaline is found in all colors- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, and purple- and exceeds even corundum (which includes ruby and sapphire) in variety of colors. By the beginning of the 16th century, green tourmaline was brought to Europe as “Brazilian emerald.” At the time, gemology was not as well established as it is now, and the naming of gemstones was quite lax. Because tourmaline was confused with ruby and emerald, it has limited history and lore of its own, despite the fact that it has been in use since before the time of Christ.

In Japan, the world for tourmaline literally means “electricity stone.” When slightly heated, it becomes electrically charged, attracting carious nonmetallic substances somewhat like a magnet. Under the bright lights of a display case it becomes charged by the heat of the light and attracts dust.

Tourmaline is most attractive in pastel colors. Darker stones, especially those with a tone of more than 6, lack beauty. One must not automatically assume that darker color equals finer quality, as this may lead to errors in value judgment. In green tourmaline, stones with a tone of 4 or 3 have the most attractive color and brilliance. The range of greenish colors is wide, covering yellowish green, green, and bluish green. Green tourmalines ranging from green toward blue are considered the most beautiful. The photograph to the next page shows an exceptional stone with the preferred blue-green color.

The hardness of tourmaline, at 7 to 7 1/2, is slightly higher than quartz. However, when tourmaline is placed in an ultrasonic cleaner, the vibrations may cause small fractures in the stone to expand, so caution is advised.