Tourmaline

Color:  Colorless, pink, red, yellow, brown, green, blue, violet, black, multi-colored
Chemical composition:  (NaLiCa) (Fe11Mg Mn Al)3  Al8 (OH)4 (BO3)Si6O18) aluminum borate silicate, complicated and changeable composition
Mohs’ hardness:  7-7 ½
Transparency:  Transparent, opaque
Luster: Vitreous
Fracture:  Uneven, small conchoidal, brittle
Crystal system:  Hexagonal (trigonal)
Cleavage:  None
Specific gravity:  3.02-3.26  (varies with the color)
Streak:  White
Refractive index:  1.616-1.652
Pleochroism:  Red:  Dark red--light red
                      Green:  Strong;  dark green—light green
                      Blue:  Strong;  dark blue –light blue
Fluorescence:  Red:  Weak, red-violet
                         Pink:  Brown, green, blue: none
Occurrence:  Africa, Brazil, Burma, Madagascar,  Russia, Sri Lanka, United States
Astrology: Connected with the planet Mercury
Chakras:  Stimulates, clears, and balances all chakras

The word tourmaline describes a family of complex silicate minerals.  All of these minerals share the same basic atomic structure and have similar chemical and optical properties, and they all contain boron, oxygen, and silicon.  Different trace elements in the crystals result in different colors.    Most tourmaline crystals show striation—parallel lines on the surface—and are often multicolored.  The most well-known of these multi-colored stones may be watermelon tourmaline with its distinctive pink and green. Rubellite, which is the ruby-pink variety, is considered the most valuable tourmaline.  Indicolite, the dark blue tourmaline, is often heat-treated to produce lighter shade of blue.  Tourmalines are found in pegmatites and alluvial deposits.  The primary sources for the gem are Sri Lanka, Brazil, and the Malagasy Republic. Tourmaline’s name comes from the Sinhalese word, turmali, which means “a stone of mixed color.”  It wasn’t identified as a gem in its own right until 1703.  Before that, tourmaline was mistaken for many other gems.   An emerald-hunting expedition went into the forests of Minas Gerais in Brazil in the early 1700s, and returned “successfully.”  The only problem was that the stones they thought were emeralds were actually green tourmaline.   In Europe, rubellite was mistaken for ruby. It was the Dutch who first recognized tourmalines as a distinct gem.  What caught their attention was the fact that tourmaline can store a static electrical charge.  According to the story, a packet of the stones were sent to Holland from Sri Lanka.  The packet was labeled turmali, colored stones.  Somehow a group of children got hold of the gems and began playing with them.  The children noticed that when the colored stones became heated in the sunlight, they attracted particles of dust.   The Dutch then began to investigate this mineral, realizing that it was not a known gem.   It was soon discovered that tourmaline crystals could also acquire an electrical charge if struck by another object or exposed to a shock wave.   Tourmaline became known as the “electric stone,” and has since been used in short wave radios.  It was even classified as a strategic material during World War II because of its use in pressure gauges that measured the force of explosions during weapons tests.  Tourmaline also polarizes light and so has been used to make polarizing filters. In India’s Ayurvedic tradition, tourmaline is one of the few stones that is always considered auspicious.   Connected with the planet Mercury, tourmaline is said to protect the wearer from evil by absorbing evil vibrations.  It’s also believed to calm the nerves, balance the electrochemical system, and help one center and focus. Metaphysically, tourmaline not only stimulates and clears the chakras but strengthens self-confidence and inspiration.   It’s said to cleanse and purify energy.   It’s also known as a stone used as a protection during shamanic rituals and for scrying.   In magical traditions, tourmaline was connected with growth, and a tourmaline crystal buried in the garden was said to encourage healthy and abundant crops.
House of Gem’s tourmaline beads have been selected for their lovely pinks and greens and blues.  The varying colors of tourmaline are, of course, beautiful when strung together—the pinks and greens, especially, offset each other perfectly—but pink tourmaline beads also work well in combination with the deeper ruby, or with citrine and blue topaz, or amethyst and blue topaz.  For a dramatic contrast, try pink tourmaline and tanzanite.  Green tourmaline beads are wonderful when combined with citrine, or golden topaz, or blue topaz and peridot.  For dramatic contrast, try green tourmaline with turquoise and lapis lazuli.