Tourmaline crystals do occur as gem quality in Australia. Tourmaline is classified as a semi-precious stone and the gemstone comes in a wide variety of colors.
This unusual deposit of Black Tourmaline, also known as Warrierite, is located on an island in the middle of a normally dry salt lake. The name Warrierite is due to its location on Warriedar Station, once a large sheep grazing property approximately 450 km north of Perth, Western Australia.
Tourmaline is one of the most attractive minerals occurring in Maine. It ranges in color from black or white to vibrant shades of red, green, and blue. The color of the best Maine specimens rivals that of tourmaline from world-famous localities in California, Brazil, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
Black tourmaline consists of the mineral schorl, which is one of the four members of the tourmaline group. Schorl is rich in iron and forms in a wide variety of rock types. It's seldom used as a gem, which makes Australian black tourmaline very rare and exceptional.
Much of the world's tourmaline comes from deposits in Brazil. Other producing countries include: Mozambique, Madagascar, Namibia, Tanzania, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States. Tourmaline crystals often form in pegmatites.
Most colors are fairly common, but pure blue, red, orange, yellow, and purple stones are rare. Such stones usually command higher prices. Color-change tourmalines are also exceptionally rare. Neon-blue paraíba tourmalines, raspberry-red rubellites, and emerald-green chrome tourmalines are especially prized.
Fine Tourmaline from the Source in Africa - Tourmalines are found in many places in the world with Brazil, Sri Lanka and of course, Africa being the top producers. Although there are plenty of gemstone deposits which contain Tourmalines, good qualities and fine colours are not often discovered among them.
The rarest Tourmaline is called Paraiba. Along with being the rarest, it is also the most expensive. We only come across great Paraiba one every few years. The easiest way to see if a Tourmaline is Paraiba is by the neon-like blue and green with traces of copper.
Tourmaline (/ˈtʊərməlɪn, -ˌliːn/ TOOR-mə-lin, -leen) is a crystalline silicate mineral group in which boron is compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium.
Tourmaline has been said to be a stone of reconciliation, a stone that fosters compassion and cool headedness, radiates the energy that attracts money, healing and friendship, and is used for grounding purposes, to stabilize, and reaffirm our Earth roots.
Tourmalines are extremely hard gemstones and cannot be scratched easily. So, if a stone has scratches on it, it cannot be a tourmaline. However, tourmalines area rarely free form inclusions. Hence, if your stone looks crystal clear, it probably isn't a tourmaline.
The prices of tourmaline vary tremendously, depending on the variety and quality. 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.
A tourmaline is a semi-precious gemstone that comes in more colors and color combination than any other gemstone. Due to the wide range of colors, tourmalines are often mistaken for many other gemstones.
Australia. Quartz is found all over Australia, both as crystals and as fine-grained material. Rock crystal and smoky quartz are found in all states, while amethyst and citrine are less common. Chalcedony, agate and jasper is found Australia-wide.
They are rare and much sought-after. Green tourmalines are very popular as precious stones among women, but many men like wearing them too. In the trade, tourmalines are sometimes offered with a prefix on their name which, at the first glance, would appear to hint at their origin.
Black Tourmaline Crystal is not especially rare. It's found around the world in igneous and metamorphic rocks, as well as in alluvial deposits, which are sedimentary deposits formed by water activity like rivers or streams. The material itself can be easily collected with simple tools, such as shovels or picks.
Bright, pure tones of red, blue and green are generally the most valued, but the electric vivid green to blue shades of copper-bearing tourmaline are so exceptional that they are in a class by themselves.
Moonstone Tourmaline is a fabulous combination stone. Scientifically its what's known as a Pegmatite, an igneous rock with large well-formed crystals. It is mostly white Orthoclase, better known as Moonstone, and Schorl, or Black Tourmaline.
The two gems are very different, and not just in their colors. Opal is in a class by itself, since it is opaque with flashes of color. It usually is cut as a cabochon, which means a flat or domed smooth top. Tourmaline is usually clear, comes in many colors, and is often faceted to create sparkle.
Stones that show attractive colors in both directions—such as bright green in one and blue in another—are the most valuable. Chrome tourmaline gems offer hues that are more saturated than most green tourmalines.
Tourmalines are more affordable than opals. For a standard tourmaline that has a generally good quality, one carat can cost from $50 to $750, depending on the color intensity and clarity. Rubellites, on the other hand, command a higher price, between $400 to $1,000 per carat.
- Paraiba tourmaline, discovered in 1987 at a mine in the Brazilian state of Paraiba, has become the most prized of all tourmaline colors because of its striking neon color and its rarity. Paraiba is an elbaite tourmaline, with large amounts of the trace elements manganese and copper.
Tourmaline Prices
The most expensive variety of Tourmaline – the beautiful, rare Paraiba Tourmaline can fetch $10,000 per carat and upwards depending on size and color saturation whilst smaller yellows may only command $50 per carat. The spectrum of prices is as wide as the color range in this amazing gem type.
In Vedic astrology, Tourmaline represents planets Saturn and Mercury. The different color varieties of Tourmaline symbolize different properties and stimulate all the vital chakras of the body.
How Are They Different? Value is the main reason that you should be able to tell these stones apart. Emerald is, carat-for-carat, much more expensive than tourmaline when both are of the same grade.