Here is a little about tourmaline's and what to look for when shopping for them.
What is tourmaline? Tourmaline comes in almost any color, including colorless and mulitcolor.
They go by a variety of names, and since there is such a variety it's easy to confuse them with other gemstones.
Two of the most valuable are watermelon tourmaline, which is bi-color, green on the outside and red on the inside, and another is reddish pink, which is called rubellite.
True natural rubellite is a raspberry color, which varies in the amount of pink or red and will have a bit of peach, depending on the light.
Most rubellite will have some heat treatment, which doesn't really affect the value, but unless you can spot it you will want to ask if the stone has been irradiated.
This adds color to the stone that wouldn't naturally occur, and diminishes the value.
Tourmaline's are found almost all over the world.
The major deposits are located in Brazil, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
The US mines some tourmaline, primarily in California and Maine.
Brazil is currently the main source.
Although there are plenty of gemstone deposits which contain tourmaline's, great specimens are still very rare.
For this reason, the price of tourmaline varies significantly.
In fact, it's not uncommon to see the price of excellent tourmaline to rival the price of similar sized diamonds.
What to look for in a tourmaline Look for vibrant color when choosing tourmaline, and the best tool for choosing a quality stone is your eye.
This is hard to believe for some people, but how it looks to the naked eye is the most important factor in choosing colored gemstones.
Although the beauty in a colored stone is subjective to the individual, if the stone has real depth and rich color to you, it looks that way to everyone else.
So, trust your judgement, but compare it with similar stones in the same category.
You don't want to expect a bi-colored stone to have the same qualities as a plain green stone, or another gemstone entirely.
Many tourmaline's display different shades of color depending on the light source and viewing angle.
It's a good idea to look at the stone in sunlight vs.
indoor lighting, and look at the stone from every angle before buying.
This is especially true of fine bi-color stones, which can fool you when trying to tell what type of gem it is.
We have a bi-color peach and canary yellow tourmaline ring that display's different colors every way you look at it.
We hope you enjoy this beautiful gemstone and consider it the next time you add to your collection.
No other stone has the range of color available to us in tourmaline.
What is tourmaline? Tourmaline comes in almost any color, including colorless and mulitcolor.
They go by a variety of names, and since there is such a variety it's easy to confuse them with other gemstones.
Two of the most valuable are watermelon tourmaline, which is bi-color, green on the outside and red on the inside, and another is reddish pink, which is called rubellite.
True natural rubellite is a raspberry color, which varies in the amount of pink or red and will have a bit of peach, depending on the light.
Most rubellite will have some heat treatment, which doesn't really affect the value, but unless you can spot it you will want to ask if the stone has been irradiated.
This adds color to the stone that wouldn't naturally occur, and diminishes the value.
Tourmaline's are found almost all over the world.
The major deposits are located in Brazil, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
The US mines some tourmaline, primarily in California and Maine.
Brazil is currently the main source.
Although there are plenty of gemstone deposits which contain tourmaline's, great specimens are still very rare.
For this reason, the price of tourmaline varies significantly.
In fact, it's not uncommon to see the price of excellent tourmaline to rival the price of similar sized diamonds.
What to look for in a tourmaline Look for vibrant color when choosing tourmaline, and the best tool for choosing a quality stone is your eye.
This is hard to believe for some people, but how it looks to the naked eye is the most important factor in choosing colored gemstones.
Although the beauty in a colored stone is subjective to the individual, if the stone has real depth and rich color to you, it looks that way to everyone else.
So, trust your judgement, but compare it with similar stones in the same category.
You don't want to expect a bi-colored stone to have the same qualities as a plain green stone, or another gemstone entirely.
Many tourmaline's display different shades of color depending on the light source and viewing angle.
It's a good idea to look at the stone in sunlight vs.
indoor lighting, and look at the stone from every angle before buying.
This is especially true of fine bi-color stones, which can fool you when trying to tell what type of gem it is.
We have a bi-color peach and canary yellow tourmaline ring that display's different colors every way you look at it.
We hope you enjoy this beautiful gemstone and consider it the next time you add to your collection.
No other stone has the range of color available to us in tourmaline.
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