kristin
08-04-2006, 11:09 AM
Tourmaline
The name tourmaline comes from the Sinhalese word for mixed gems: toromalli. It’s a term Dutch merchants applied to the mulit colored, water worn pebbles that miners found in the gem gravels of Sri Lanka. Tourmaline’s species are defined by their chemical composition and properties. The major tourmaline species are elbaite, liddicoatite, dravite, uvite, and schorl. Most gem tourmalines are elbaites, which offers the widest range of gem quality tourmaline colors such as green, blue, yellow, pink, red, colorless, on several different colors in one stone. Gemologists describe these multi colored stones as parti colored tourmaline.
The name tourmaline comes from the Sinhalese word for mixed gems: toromalli. It’s a term Dutch merchants applied to the mulit colored, water worn pebbles that miners found in the gem gravels of Sri Lanka. Tourmaline’s species are defined by their chemical composition and properties. The major tourmaline species are elbaite, liddicoatite, dravite, uvite, and schorl. Most gem tourmalines are elbaites, which offers the widest range of gem quality tourmaline colors such as green, blue, yellow, pink, red, colorless, on several different colors in one stone. Gemologists describe these multi colored stones as parti colored tourmaline.