[Jewelry making - Article 00126] - [Orchid] Tourmaline - A gift from nature

[Sandra I. Smith]

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    Tourmaline is one of the most unusual of all gemstones. Unlike other
    gems, which we often identify with a single color, tourmaline comes
    in every hue. Often more than one color occurs in the same crystal.
    Watermelon tourmaline, which is pale pink edged with green, is the
    best known example of bi-colored crystals. Although rarer, some
    tourmaline crystals include three colors. Its medley of color is not
    the only thing that distinguishes tourmaline. It can polarize light,
    so that the colors darken as the stone is rotated. Tourmaline is
    also piezoelectric, which means that it generates static electricity
    when rubbed or warmed. The static charge is just enough to attract
    substances like tiny paper fragments, dust, and ashes. Tourmaline's
    ability to attract substances to it led to one of its early names.
    Eighteenth-century Dutchmen used the static electricity in
    tourmaline to draw the ashes from their long-stemmed pipes. They
    gave the name aschentrekker (ash drawer) to the gemstone. Many
    people regard tourmaline as a modern stone, as it isn't mentioned by
    name in antique documents. Tourmaline did exist in ancient times,
    but it was confused with other gemstones because of its stunning
    colors. Green tourmaline was mistaken for emerald, yellow for topaz,
    red for ruby, and so on. Its modern name comes from the Sinhalese
    word tourmali, which means mixed colors. Later, the various colors
    were given individual names. Green tourmaline has been called
    Brazilian emerald and yellow-green was known as Ceylonese peridot or
    chrysolite. Those names were misleading and are not commonly used
    now. Tourmalines next received names like siberite for violet,
    dravite for brown, and indicolite for dark blue. One multi-colored
    species of tourmaline was named elbaite, after the Isle of Elba,
    where tourmaline was first found. Gemologists and jewelers now
    prefer to use the word tourmaline preceded by the appropriate color
    designation. Historians believe that the Chinese began using
    tourmaline more than 2000 years ago. They carved figurines from it,
    in addition to using it in their jewelry. The last Empress of China
    is said to have been especially fond of pink tourmaline and was laid
    to rest on a pillow carved from it. Tourmaline is a complex
    combination of minerals, the predominate ones being aluminum,
    silica, and boron. It can contain up to a dozen other minerals, each
    of which produce a distinctive color. Manganese produces pink
    stones, chromium turns it green, cobalt is responsible for blue, and
    iron and potassium yields dark red. Calcium, lithium, magnesium,
    nickel, bismuth, and zinc are some of the other minerals found in
    tourmaline. Despite the variety of their chemical constituents, all
    the species of tourmaline have the same crystal structure. That's
    why they are all part of the same family, despite their different
    colors. Africa, Canada, Mexico, Myanmar (Burma), Russia, Sri Lanka,
    Tanzania, and the United States all presently mine tourmaline.
    Tourmaline was discovered in Maine in 1820, and was later adopted as
    its state mineral. Paraiba, a vibrant blue tourmaline named for the
    Brazilian state in which it is mined, is the newest member of the
    tourmaline family. Paraiba gets its exceptional color from copper
    and gold. It's the only tourmaline discovered so far to contain
    those two minerals. It's also the rarest and most expensive of the
    tourmalines. Prices for Paraiba start at $10,000 a carat, as
    compared to less than $100 a carat for the common pink varieties.
    Its chemical complexity makes tourmaline unique among gemstones. Its
    hardness (Mohs 7.0 - 7.5), durability, and brilliant colors make it
    an enduring favorite among those who love gemstones. Tourmaline is
    truly a gift from Mother Nature. 

****Sandra I. Smith, Writer ****




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