The tourmaline is highly sought after because it combines good hardness (7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale) with excellent durability. It has one of the widest color ranges of any gem. Tourmaline’s colors have many different causes. It’s generally agreed that traces of iron, and possibly titanium, induce green and blue colors. Manganese produces reds and pinks, and possibly yellows. Some pink and yellow tourmalines might owe their hues to color centers caused by radiation, which can be natural or laboratory-induced.

The name tourmaline comes from the Sinhalese term “Turmali,” which was the name given to all colored crystals on the island of Sri Lanka back in the days. This all inclusive name indicates the inability of ancient gem dealers to differentiate tourmaline from other stones. In fact, at one time in history, pink and red tourmaline were thought to be rubies. Pink tourmaline tends to be pinker in color than ruby. However, their similarities in appearance are so strong that the stones in the Russian crown jewels believed to be rubies for centuries, are now thought to be tourmalines. Tourmaline was in fact also confused with emerald for 300 years! The stone was first discovered by Dutch traders off the West Coast of Italy in the late 1600's or early 1700's.

Tourmaline is the birthstone of October, and is believed to reflect kindness, tolerance and femininity. Tourmalines are also believed to be useful in relaxing the body and the mind, and to help in the treatment of many different diseases such as anxiety, blood poisoning, arthritis, and heart disease.