Tourmaline
Tourmaline
Apart from sapphire, tourmaline is the only gemstone that occurs in all colors from white to black. Only garnet, spinel and the various forms of corundum come close in terms of colorfulness. It can be found in various varieties all across the world and has a complex chemical composition. Its hardness lies between 7 and 7.5 and its light refraction is also above average for gemstones.
Up until the late 1980s tourmaline was treated with relative disdain, but this attitude has changed considerably. Around 30 years ago tourmaline was found in large amounts while ploughing fields in Brazil and without a second thought was often thrown onto piles at the side of the road, as its hardness made it a hindrance to the farmers’ work. Dealers then came along and the broken tourmaline crystals that could be cut were collected in oil drums and dealt with in amounts of up to 50 kg. Those days are over: now every piece of raw tourmaline is individually appraised and sold per gram or even per carat.The market price for tourmaline has risen very strongly. From an investment perspective, all tourmalines that have a strong color, are clear (when viewed with the naked eye) and have a weight of more than 5 ct are an interesting proposition.As already mentioned, tourmaline comes in many colors and the market has come up with names for most of them:
Up until the late 1980s tourmaline was treated with relative disdain, but this attitude has changed considerably. Around 30 years ago tourmaline was found in large amounts while ploughing fields in Brazil and without a second thought was often thrown onto piles at the side of the road, as its hardness made it a hindrance to the farmers’ work. Dealers then came along and the broken tourmaline crystals that could be cut were collected in oil drums and dealt with in amounts of up to 50 kg. Those days are over: now every piece of raw tourmaline is individually appraised and sold per gram or even per carat.The market price for tourmaline has risen very strongly. From an investment perspective, all tourmalines that have a strong color, are clear (when viewed with the naked eye) and have a weight of more than 5 ct are an interesting proposition.As already mentioned, tourmaline comes in many colors and the market has come up with names for most of them:
