The History of Tourmaline

Rumored to be born from the rare energy of a rainbow, Tourmaline’s many shades ripple with imaginative play, joyful generosity, and attracting perfect prosperity. Created from silicate minerals, these precious stones can be found in a range of colors. One of the most well known is the midnight hued stone of the Black Tourmaline, but for those craving a splash of color, you can find Tourmaline crystals in brighter shades of pink, green, purple, and even medley like rainbow shades or the color of watermelon.

From India to Australia and beyond, Tourmaline is a worldly gem that can be found scattered across the globe. Its name comes from the Sinhalese term ‘Turmali’ which translates to unknown gemstone of mixed color, lending a sense of mystery to its makeup. Tourmaline can often be mistaken for other gemstones. In fact, there are Russian crown jewels that were celebrated for their wealth of rare rubies but actually turned out to be Tourmalines. In Brazil too, a Spanish knight believed he had unearthed an emerald, but it also turned out to be a variety of glowing Green Tourmaline.

The colorful Tourmaline varieties were said to have made their way from Sri Lanka over to Europe at the start of the 18th Century. It’s one of the only crystal stones that can be electrically charged which is a testament to its power. Nowadays, we tend to turn to Tourmaline when we crave balance and healing, with each kind of color connecting to a different part of our soul energy.

Rainbow Tourmaline comes in a myriad of hues blending every shade of the rainbow to restore balance. In the dance of light and color, the chakras are invited to flow. Rainbow Tourmaline is a rhythm for the soul.

Zodiac Birthstone

Libra and Virgo both make full use of the healing powers of true Tourmaline. Librans can be beautifully diplomatic, fair, and even a little idealistic which makes them wonderfully just people to be around. Tourmaline ensures that they are stay protected and don’t get taken advantage off while they move through life. As Librans can also be a little indecisive, using Red Tourmaline can be an amazing way to encourage yourself to take action and make the decisions that come straight from the core of your own true heart.

Virgos are strong contenders; they are bright and passionate and seem to move through life at a glide. But scratch beneath the surface of these happy go lucky types and there’s a sensitive soul to be found. Virgos actually are really good at masking their emotions which can lead to the soul being off balance. By turning to the hues of Tourmaline, Virgos can learn to align their external communication with their internal and to channel their emotions in a healthy processing way rather than working to bury their feelings deep.

What is Tourmaline?

Tourmaline is the name of a large group of boron silicate minerals. These minerals share a common crystal structure and similar physical properties - but vary tremendously in chemical composition. The wide range of compositions and color zoning within crystals causes tourmaline to occur in more colors and color combinations than any other mineral group.

Tourmaline is one of the world's most popular gemstones and it serves as a birthstone for the month of October. Because of its popularity, tourmaline is easy to find in jewelry stores. Well-formed tourmaline crystals are also valued by mineral specimen collectors. Specimens with attractive colors and crystal forms can sell for thousands of dollars.

Tourmaline Sources

Brazil has been the world's leading source of tourmaline for nearly 500 years. In the 1500s Portuguese explorers obtained green and blue tourmaline from indigenous people and from panning streams in search of gold. They thought that these colorful stones were emeralds and sapphires and sent them back to Portugal, where they were cut into gems and used to make jewelry for royalty and wealthy citizens. (Tourmaline was not recognized as a distinct mineral until 1793.) [1]

What is tourmaline crystal used for?