Meet the Dazzling Tourmaline Family

The tourmaline group includes a very broad colour spectrum caused by different types of minerals and mineralisation processes. Tourmaline is particularly popular as a very versatile design gemstone. The many different colour ranges are particularly prized by jewelers as allowing a life of creative freedom for fabulous designs.

The technical side of tourmaline
Tourmaline is technically a "crystalline boron silicate". The colours come from combinations of other metals, like potassium, aluminium, lithium, and similar elements. Tourmaline is relatively hard, approximately 7 – 7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale.

Tourmaline is also a very stable mineral, with some of the best gemstone is formed by hydrothermal action. Tourmaline crystals are sometimes formed in huge sizes during these processes.

Tourmaline quality is basically judged by richness of colour. The deeper the colour, the better the gemstone is the basic theory. That theory, however, is a little simple. Due to the need to match colours in jewelry designs, "purity of colour" is probably a better definition of quality.

To make the distinction clearer – Aquamarine, a famous member of the tourmaline family, is best known for its brilliant pale colouring. Large pale aquamarine crystals are often featured in upscale jewelry.

Other types of tourmaline have very deep colours, including red, blue, green and even amber. The richness of these "case specific" colours are obviously very much part of their value judgements.

Understanding the tourmaline range
The sheer gigantic scope of tourmaline gemstones needs to be clearly understood. This gemstone can be Into a bewildering range of styles, sizes, and in virtually every shade of the rainbow. It takes a little patience, but you can have a truly magical experience exploring the different types and colours of tourmaline.

The best way to understand how tourmaline is used is to see all the design options is to focus on broad ranges of commercial tourmaline jewels. These collections are pretty comprehensive, include a very wide range of sizes and styles, and also help you understand pricing.

If you look at a commercial category of tourmaline called "multi-tourmaline", you will see why this gemstone is so popular with jewelers and consumers. It is a truly fabulous mix of design options. These are the sorts of tourmaline stones that are typically used in top-quality custom jewelry.

Trying to find tourmaline for a custom jewelry design?
Tourmaline is such a part of custom jewelry that sourcing it is a potentially problematic issue. Finding the right stone, finding the right color, finding the right cut, you need to be able to discuss what you want with the experts.
There's another reason for this sourcing situation – Tourmaline turnover in the market is pretty high. What you see online is indicative, but doesn't necessarily mean you can get exactly what you want. If you're looking for a particular carat size of gemstone, it might be hard work.

The best option is to get into a meaningful dialogue with professional suppliers. These people will know exactly what you mean when you talk about technical issues, and you won't have to explain the basics. They will understand your quality requirements, and be able to help with good commercial pricing.

If you're looking for tourmaline, talk to us. RMC has a fabulous range of all types of tourmaline in all cuts and sizes. https://shoprmcgems.com/