Tourmaline Beads Tourmaline beads were named for the Singhalese word, touramali, which means mixed colored stones. In fact, tourmaline, which can be found in every color of the rainbow, has the widest range of colors of all gemstones. Scientifically, the mineral tourmaline is actually a group of minerals, rather than a single one. These minerals are elbaite, schorl, dravite and uvite. The variety elbaite is most often used as gemstone beads or cut gems because of its beautiful color variations which are most commonly pink, red, green, black, blue, amber, and clear. The blue variety of elbaite is called indicolite (also indigolite,) the pink or red variety is called rubellite, and the green variety is known as verdelite. The most well known variety of elbaite is a pink and green combination called watermelon tourmaline. However, the schorl variety of tourmaline, which is rich in iron and black in color, is found as inclusions (rutiles) in tourmalinated quartz, a common element in jewelry supplies. Dravite and uvite are much less common than elbaite or schorl, but they are desired by mineral collectors as specimens. There are red gemstone beads on the market today called rubylite which are not tourmaline, but dyed quartz (agate) beads. No doubt these gemstone beads were given the name so similar to rubellite in an effort to gain value from the association. Tourmaline of high quality is cut into gems, while the lesser quality material is tumbled and made into beads. Consequently, many tourmaline beads have visible inclusions or white streaks, but this does not preclude their use in jewelry making. Tourmaline crystals are also highly prized as mineral specimens by collectors. An interesting quality of tourmaline, discovered in the 1700s, is the fact that it becomes electrically charged when it is heated or put under pressure. This gave the gemstone a significant place in the ancient alchemists' collection of powerful minerals. An interesting fact about tourmaline in more recent history is that the pressure gauges used to measure the power of the first atomic bomb blasts were made with slices of tourmaline. Tourmaline is a birthstone for October (in addition to opal.) In Western cultures, it is the stone representing the 8th wedding anniversary. Although tourmaline is mined worldwide, significant sources of tourmaline include Brazil, Italy (elbaite is named for Elba, Italy), Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States. Tourmaline was the first gemstone mined in the United States by European settlers (in the 1820s in the state of Maine.) common treatments: none special care: avoid impact, abrasion, harsh chemicals, ultra-sonic cleaning, extreme temperature changes, high heat hardness: 7 - 7.5 |
