Tourmaline
No other gem offers a palette as wide as tourmaline: from pink to red, from green to blue, up to the electric blue of copper-bearing tourmalines.
Maiwis editorial team
A family of a thousand shades
Tourmaline is not a single mineral but a family. The one met in jewellery is most often elbaite. Its highly variable chemical composition explains the diversity of its colours, sometimes combined in a single stone, as in the bicoloured tourmalines known as “watermelon”.
Several shades have been given a name: rubellite for pinks and reds, indicolite for blues, verdelite for greens.
Copper-bearing tourmalines
In the late 1980s, tourmalines of an electric blue were discovered in the state of Paraíba, in Brazil. Their colour comes from copper. Comparable tourmalines were later found in Mozambique and Nigeria. They are now among the most sought-after and most expensive tourmalines.
What gives a tourmaline its value
| Criterion | What we look at |
|---|---|
| Colour | A vivid, saturated shade. For copper-bearing tourmalines, the intensity of the blue or green. |
| Orientation | The colour varies with the angle. The stone must show its finest shade seen face-on. |
| Clarity | Greens and blues are often clean. Rubellites more often contain inclusions, which is accepted. |
| Weight | Copper-bearing tourmalines above a few carats are rare. |
| Treatment | Untreated, heated or irradiated, according to the report. |
Origins
Brazil remains a major source, for every colour. Mozambique and Nigeria produce copper-bearing tourmalines, Afghanistan blues and greens, Madagascar and Namibia a wide variety of shades.
Tourmaline: the weight and cut you choose
The House does not hold a fixed stock. You describe what you are looking for, we search through our sources and present a short selection.
The weight
From a few tenths of a carat up to major collector pieces. Give us a range, for example 2 to 3 carats.
The cut
Oval, cushion, emerald cut, round, pear, heart, radiant or cabochon: the shape is chosen according to the jewel you will have made.
The colour
The shade, the intensity and the treatments you accept or exclude. The more precise the request, the faster the search.
As soon as a stone matches, we send you its photographs, a video, its laboratory report and its price, with no obligation. You then decide. The House supplies the exceptional stone; the jewel is made by the jeweller of your choice. Orders are taken worldwide, and stones can be viewed in person in Paris, by appointment.
Place an orderFrequently asked questions
Can a Mozambican tourmaline be called Paraíba?
For many laboratories the term now designates a copper-coloured tourmaline, whatever its origin. The report then states the geographical origin separately.
Is tourmaline suitable for a ring?
Yes, with a hardness of 7 to 7.5. It needs a little more care than a sapphire against knocks and scratches.
Are tourmalines treated?
Some are heated to lighten or change their colour, others irradiated, notably among the pinks. The laboratory report says so.
