Tourmaline

Tourmaline is a complex mineral composed of silica and alumina, manganese oxide, lime, potash, magnesia, ferrous oxide, and certain other chemical strains, which are not all present in any one particular specimen.

Tourmaline has a vitreous luster and is valued as a precious gemstone when it is cut and polished but has a greasy look on fractured structures.

It has a hardness of between 7 and 7.5 on the Mohs, scale, harder than quartz and just a little softer than topaz.

Tourmaline is found in several colors such as red, black, green, blue, multi colored, and colorless. The name tourmaline is thought to mean "stone with mixed colors."

As a gemstone, tourmaline can be found in many different cuts and sizes. The most desired hues are intense pink, emerald green and a deep colored blue.

As an alternate gemstone for the month of October, tourmaline is a beautiful gemstone when mounted on gold or other precious metals.

Known to have been used as jewelry and for other ornamental purposes for hundreds of years, tourmaline is a very versatile gemstone that can be used in a wide variety of settings.

Tourmaline has a non distinct cleavage with long crystals, rounded sides, and triangular cross sections.

Brazil is the biggest supplier of tourmaline and it can be found in many other locations around the world.

Other important suppliers of tourmaline are Myanmar, Nigeria, India, Madagascar, Nepal, Malawi, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, the United States, Switzerland, and Italy.

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