Tourmaline

Tourmalines are colorful stones that come in shades of green, blue, pink, red, yellow, brown, or can even come colorless. Other tourmalines are parti-colored- a multi-colored tourmaline that is formed when a change in the chemistry of the crystal occurs during its growth.  While it’s generally abundant, top quality tourmaline in a rare color are still very difficult to find. The largest producer is the Minas Gerais region of Brazil but other producers include Nigeria, Zambia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Russia.

Pink to Red Tourmaline (Rubellite)
Rubellite is a tourmaline that come in purplish-red, red, red-orange, light pastel pink, hot pink, and all shades in between. Intense and extremely vivid red tourmaline is rare while fine quality pink tourmalines are quite a bit easier to find. Brownish tint or any visible inclusions are less desirable.

Paraiba Tourmaline
Discovered in 1989 in Paraiba, Brazil, this tourmaline comes in different shades of green, blue, and violet.  The element responsible for the stone’s color is copper. Top quality, intense neon blue or green Paraiba tourmalines are incredibly rare and can command high prices on the market. Other than Brazil, Africa also produces tourmalines in the same color range.

Green Tourmaline (Chrome)
Chrome tourmaline covers the blue-green to yellow-green color range.  Because of this, top quality green tourmalines can be a great alternative to more expensive emeralds but unfortunately most are too dark or have a brown tint  to pass as its pricier cousin. Most of these tourmalines are produced in Brazil, the USA, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Tanzania, and Kenya.