Tourmaline

Tourmaline is a name applied to a family of related minerals with widely varying properties. Tourmalines make very popular jewelry stones and come in an amazing range of colors, including multi-color zones.

• Color: Solid, mixed, or zoned shades of black, brown, blue, yellow, green, red, pink, orange, violet, and colorless

• Crystal structure: Trigonal

• Luster: Vitreous (glass-like)

• Transparency: Translucent to opaque

• Refractive index: 1.61-1.65 or 1.63-1.68

• Specific Gravity: 2.82-3.32

• Cleavage: Indistinct

• Fracture: Uneven or conchoidal

• Streak: White

• Luminescence: Fluorescence in pink stones; Inert to very weak; Red to violet in LW and SW

• Pleochroism: Present, usually moderate to strong; May be dichroic; Colors and strength varies by stone:

Click here to buy cabochon Tourmaline.
Click here to buy facet Tourmaline.