Table of Contents
- 1 What other minerals are found with tourmaline?
- 2 How can you tell if you have tourmaline?
- 3 How much is tourmaline worth?
- 4 What rock is tourmaline found in?
- 5 What is the rarest color of tourmaline?
- 6 Is black tourmaline rare?
- 7 How much is a tourmaline stone worth?
- 8 Where can you find tourmaline gemstones?
- 9 What is a tourmaline gemstone?
What other minerals are found with tourmaline?
Tourmaline is not a single mineral, but a group of several closely related minerals. The three most well-known members are Elbaite, Schorl, and Dravite. Other lesser known members include Uvite, Liddicoatite and Buergerite.
How can you tell if you have tourmaline?
Observe your pink tourmaline under a bright artificial light. Genuine tourmalines change color under artificial light, displaying a brownish undertone. If your stone is billed as a pink tourmaline and it does not display this undertone when exposed to artificial light, then you are likely looking at a fake gemstone.
Where is tourmaline most commonly found?
Localities. Gem and specimen tourmaline is mined chiefly in Brazil and many parts of Africa, including Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, and Namibia.
How much is tourmaline worth?
Most expensive are the Paraíba tourmalines, which may reach tens of thousands of dollars per carat. Chrome tourmalines, rubellites and fine indicolites and bi-colors may sell for as much as $1000/ct. or more. Other varieties are available for prices between $50–750/ct., depending on the richness of the color.
What rock is tourmaline found in?
Tourmaline is typically a mineral of granite pegmatites, pneumatolytic veins, and some granites; it is also commonly found in metamorphic rocks, as a product of boron metasomatism, or as a result of recrystallisation of dertrital grains from the original sediment.
How much is a tourmaline worth?
What is the rarest color of tourmaline?
blue
The rarest and most expensive tourmaline is the paraiba variety — a neon-like blue or green that is colored by traces of copper. It was first discovered in the Brazilian state of Paraiba in 1989.
Is black tourmaline rare?
It’s seldom used as a gem, which makes Australian black tourmaline very rare and exceptional. Like all tourmaline, black tourmaline is quite hard (7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale), which also makes it a very durable gemstone.
What is the rarest tourmaline color?
The rarest and most expensive tourmaline is the paraiba variety — a neon-like blue or green that is colored by traces of copper. It was first discovered in the Brazilian state of Paraiba in 1989.
How much is a tourmaline stone worth?
Prices of tourmalines are generally under $500 per carat but in the case of Paraiba can reach $50000 per carat. Where is Tourmaline found? Tourmaline can be found all around the world.
Where can you find tourmaline gemstones?
Tourmaline is a gemstone that can be found all over the world. In the U.S., there are mines in California, Maine and New Hampshire that produce this semi-precious stone. Tourmalines from California can be found in a variety of colors except for blue and yellow. Some of the mines there have been in operation since the 1800’s.
Where can you find tourmaline?
Worldwide Distribution. Tourmaline is found in many places throughout the world with especially large deposits located in Brazil, Sri Lanka and South Africa. Other hot spots for this gem, include Nigeria, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.
What is a tourmaline gemstone?
Tourmaline ( /ˈtʊərməlɪn/, – /iːn/ TOOR-mə-lin, -leen) is a crystalline boron silicate mineral compounded with elements such as aluminium , iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. Tourmaline is classified as a semi-precious stone and the gemstone comes in a wide variety of colors.