Tourmaline Information's

 

Tourmaline Details 

Tourmaline is a crystalline boron silicate mineral that comes in a wide range of colors. It is the most colorful mineral on Earth and is found all over the world. Tourmaline is one of the birthstones for October.

Origin and Varieties

Tourmaline is found in many parts of the world, including Brazil, Madagascar, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and the United States. It comes in a variety of colors, including:

• Black: Iron-rich variety of tourmaline
• Blue: Indicolite is a blue to blue-green variety of tourmaline
• Brown: Dravite is a brown variety of tourmaline
• Green: Verdelite is a green variety of tourmaline
• Pink: Rubellite is a pink to red variety of tourmaline
• Red: Siberite is a red variety of tourmaline
• Watermelon: Multicolored variety of tourmaline
• Yellow: Dravite is a yellow to yellow-green variety of tourmaline

Physical Properties

• Hardness: 7-7.5 on the Mohs scale
• Density: 2.82-3.32 g/cm3
• Cleavage: Poor to indistinct
• Fracture: Uneven to conchoidal
• Luster: Vitreous to resinous

Optical Properties

• Refractive Index: 1.62-1.64
• Birefringence: 0.018-0.040
• Dispersion: 0.017
• Pleochroism: Strong

Elementary Chemical Analysis

Tourmaline consists of aluminum boron silicate and may include other elements such as sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, and magnesium.

Most High Price Selling Record

The most expensive tourmaline ever sold was a Paraiba tourmaline, which was sold for $1.5 million per carat in 2003.

The World's Most Biggest Crystal

The largest tourmaline ever found was a 16-foot-long, 3-foot-wide crystal that was discovered in Brazil in 1991.

History

Tourmaline has been used as a gemstone for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians and Romans used tourmaline for carving and jewelry. In the 1700s, Dutch traders brought tourmaline to Europe from Sri Lanka and named it "aschentrekker", which means "ash puller" in Dutch, because the gemstone was used to clean ash from tobacco pipes.

Uses

Tourmaline is used as a gemstone and is often used in jewelry such as rings, earrings, and necklaces. It is also used in some electronic devices as a component in capacitors and in water filtration systems.