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Stone Lore
Tourmaline takes its name from the
ancient word turmali which means,
"mixed precious stones". Pink
tourmaline (along with opal) is the
birthstone for October. Green
tourmaline is designated for the
10th wedding anniversary and
rubellite for the 17th. Tourmaline
occurs in all colors as well as
colorless. Familiar varieties include
rubellite (deeper shades of pink to
red), indicolite (blue), chrome
(intense green) plus bi-colored and
parti-colored (multiple colors within
the same stone). Tourmaline is
found mainly in Brazil, Africa and
the U.S.
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Tourmaline has a special place in the hearts of
mineral collectors as well as in that of gem and
gemstone enthusiasts. Its nearly universal
popularity is based upon two very important
facts:
It is a bright and beautiful gemstone that can be found
in just about any color.
Tourmalines that are of acceptable quality are affordable
to most purchasers.
The word "rainbow" is used figuratively to describe
tourmaline. In reality, it is a well recognized fact that
tourmaline's diversity in color is not limited to the seven
colors of the rainbow.
Tourmaline can be colorless to just about any color, hue,
or tone known to man. And if range of colors among
different tourmalines is not enough, individual crystals
can vary in color along their length or in cross-section.
The variations in color along a crystal's length give rise
to the bicolor and tricolor tourmalines which have
multitudes of color combinations.
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