Tourmaline is a birthstone for October, along with opal. Tourmaline is also the gem of the eighth anniversary.

Gemologists use a tourmaline’s properties and chemical composition to define its species. The major tourmaline species are elbaite, liddicoatite, dravite, uvite, and schorl. Most gem tourmalines are elbaites, which are rich in sodium, lithium, aluminum, …

The pink tourmaline crystal grew with quartz and other minerals. Tourmaline is famous for its dazzling colors. There are rich reds, pastel pinks, peach colors, strong greens, bright yellows, and deep blues.

People have probably used tourmaline as a gem for centuries, but until the development of modern mineralogy, they identified it as some other stone (ruby, sapphire, emerald, and so forth) based on its coloring.

This bibliography has been prepared as an aid for people interested in tourmaline. It is a selection of citations to books and gemology journal articles that discuss the different species and varieties of tourmaline, their colors, identification, mining localities, and treatments.

Learn about tourmaline's durability and how to care for your tourmaline jewelry.

Tourmaline Birthstone Meaning & History. Tourmaline is the newer October birthstone. The name comes from the Sinhalese word toramalli, which means “stone with mixed colors,” because it often has multiple colors in one crystal. Very few gems match tourmaline’s dazzling array of colors.

A quamarine, tourmaline, topaz, lzunzite, mor- ganite-these are but a few of the gemstones fo~~nd in the remarlzable mineral deposits that geologists call pegmatites (figure 1). Of the many different lzinds of roclz exposed at the earth's surface, pegmatites contain the greatest ab~~ndance and variety of gem minerals. Pegmatite

Tourmaline. Tourmalines have a very complex chemical composition, and more than a dozen mineral species are recognized within this group. Their highly variable chemical composition gives rise to a wide range of colors. Among the many varieties of elbaite tourmaline are verdelite (green), indicolite (blue) and rubellite (red).

Tourmaline is strongly pleochroic, which means that it can show different colors in different crystal directions. One of tourmaline’s pleochroic colors is typically much darker than the other. In addition, many tourmalines absorb more light down the length of the crystal than across it.