The Other October Birthstone - Tourmaline - By: blog.RubyLane.com

While Opal is the most widely recognized birthstone for the month of October, it is not your only choice. Tourmaline, a complex mineral, comes in as many shades of color as are displayed in fine Opals, and the pink variety is widely accepted as an alternate birthstone for the month.

Tourmaline's have been sold and traded as long as any other gemstone. However, they have often been misidentified as something else. In the Sinhalese language of Sri Lanka, the word for tourmaline, “tura mali”, can be interpreted as “stones of many colors” or “stones of mixed colors”. Dealers in Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon), have often sold batches of mixed colored gems under this name, often with no false pretense of suggesting that the stones are actually tourmaline, gemologically speaking.

Tourmaline's are actually considered a group of mineral species, all complex aluminum borosilicates. Very minor alterations in chemical formula may create totally different colors. Manganese, and sometimes titanium, are credited with creation of pink colors. Manganese is also responsible for the color of red tourmaline, often called Rubellite. A true red color should be present if a stone is referred to as Rubellite.

Tourmaline comes in every color in the rainbow. Actual crystals of tourmaline often contain more than one color and are sometimes cut to create bi-colored and multi-colored gems. The most widely known of these are the “watermelon” Tourmaline's, which display pink and green colors, sometimes with an additional colorless area.

Tourmaline's are dichroic, which means that the intensity of color in an crystal may vary with the direction it is viewed in. This property may carry over to the fashioned gemstones, depending on exactly how they are cut. A good cutter may also be able to produce more attractive stones, if gifted with an eye that allows him or her to look at an uncut tourmaline crystal, and create the most vibrant stone possible from it.

Heating and irradiation are often used to enhance tourmaline colors, with many intense pink stones starting out life as colorless or just barely pink stones. Irradiation is the most common method used in enhancing these colors. Tourmaline is heat sensitive. Intense heat may alter colors and rapid temperature changes may damage the stone. Ultrasonic and steam cleaning should be avoided.

Tourmaline does possess a rather unique property: They actually may develop an electrical charge when heated and cooled. This property allows them to be used to clean the ashes from pipes. The Dutch, who thought by some to have introduced these stones to Europe, referred to them as “aschentrekkers”, due to this property. They also oscillate under certain conditions, in the same manner as quartz crystals, which are used as timepiece regulators because of this property.

Pink Tourmaline can occur in the same color ranges as Kunzite, Rose Quartz, and Pink Sapphire. Confusion with Garnet and Ruby is also possible.

Some varieties of Tourmaline can command very high prices. Some of the blue Indicolite varieties, especially the electric blue colors associated with Pariba, can be quite pricey. Chrome Green Tourmaline and fine red Rubellite may also achieve rather remarkable values. However, pink Tourmaline is normally moderately priced.

Tourmaline is very versatile, and may be found in moderately priced silver jewelry as well as in high end custom creations in gold, in vintage styles and in new artisan creations.

While Opal is the most widely recognized birthstone for the month of October, it is not your only choice. Tourmaline, a complex mineral, comes in as many shades of color as are displayed in fine Opals, and the pink variety is widely accepted as an alternate birthstone for the month.

Source: Notes from the Lane at http://blog.rubylane.com - Your complete resource for online sales success.
RubyLane.com is home to over 2000 online shops from around the world offering Antiques and Art, Vintage Collectibles and Jewelry in 2,000 categories.