Rubellite Tourmaline

Item Description

Tourmaline is certainly one of the most colorful gems in the world, as it's found in virtually every hue you can think of. Interestingly, Tourmaline has been known for centuries, but it wasn't fully identified until the 1800s. This is because Spanish explorers in the 1500s mistook green Tourmaline found in Brazil for Emerald, and it remained misidentified for a few hundred years. The irony is that black Tourmaline (Schorl) had been well-known in Europe, but it took mineralogists quite a bit of time to realize that the colorful gemmy crystals were part of the same mineral group as the opaque black crystals. This stone is an "Oval" cut gem with a lovely rich pinkish-red color. There are some very slight inclusions, but Tourmaline is classified as a "Type-3" gemstone, which means that inclusions are almost always present, and accepted by dealers and collectors, so this stone is better than most by Tourmaline standards. It would make a great center stone for a pendant or a ring, or as an addition to your gem collection. Retail price on this gem is $549.50,