Tourmaline: The Gemstone With Nearly Every Color

If any stone resists
a single defining color —
it's tourmaline.

Sometimes,
several colors,
in one crystal.

Chemistry Built for Diversity

Iron. Manganese. Chromium. Copper.
Each one, a different color.

Green tourmalines.
Rubellite, pink and red.
Paraiba, blue-green, electric.

Watermelon Tourmaline

Pink at the center.
Green at the rim.

A fruit, in stone.

Zonal color —
almost unique to this gem alone.

Paraiba, the Rarest

Discovered in Brazil, late 1980s.
A blue-green never seen before.

Copper, in trace.
Rarity, in full.

Sometimes worth more
than fine ruby.
Than fine sapphire.

Where It Is Found

Brazil. Minas Gerais.
Mozambique. Nigeria — Paraiba-type.
Afghanistan. Pakistan — pink, green, large.

What to Consider

Saturation. Clarity.

Paraiba's neon glow
rarely survives a photograph.

Some things
must be seen
in person.