A pretty, dark, bluegreen tourmaline, the rough was from Afghanistan. Oftentimes the rough from Afghanistan has many cracks due primarily to the explosives that they use there in mining operations. But this one has no such cracks, and only tiny inclusions that can’t be seen with the naked eye.
1 in stock
Believed to have been discovered in the 1500s by Brazilian conquistadors, it wasn’t until the 1800s when scientists discovered that tourmaline was its own sort of mineral. Clarity is an important aspect of tourmaline, as it can actually be as transparent as diamond.
The name Tourmaline comes from the Singhalese word (from northern India) “touramalli” which means “mixed colored stones”. Because tourmaline is found in so many different colors they were often confused with other types of gems.
Tourmaline is a birthstone for October along with opal. Tourmaline is also the gem of the 8th wedding anniversary.