Tourmaline ring buying guide

by swati k

Tourmaline is easy to maintain and stable under normal temperature conditions. Warm soapy water is the best to clean the stone. You can polish these stones with oil which also is supposed to hide scratches. One should protect the stone from too much heat and acids. One should also protect tourmaline from sharp blows and scratches.

Tourmaline ring buying guide

The brightest rays from the sun, traveled along the rainbow collecting all its colors and fell on earth forming crystals “…. An Egyptian Legend. Tourmaline also known as the “rainbow stone” is a potpourri of colours. It is generally believed that these stones can match various moods and tempers as it has many faces.

Tourmaline is a magical stone, and it is generally believed that these stones are extension of oneself. Tourmaline rings are considered very special. Accept there beauty and aesthetic value, they are also valued for there special healing powers.

The word tourmaline is derived from the Sinhalese word “tour Mali” which means “a mixed parcel”. Actually tourmaline is the only gem that comes in so many hues and each colour has its own significance. Sometimes even the same stone has many colors visible i.e. partly or multi colored. Tourmaline is a stone of double refractive nature; hence one can see various shades in the same stone. These gems have been treasured through out history. They have been found in ruins dating several thousand years. They are valued as gifts symbolizing love.

Size, cut, quality, colour and clarity of tourmaline are some important aspects to be taken in mind while going for a tourmaline ring. The colours of tourmaline can be divided into 2 basic categories i.e. warm colors and cool colors. Warm colors are reds, oranges and yellows which look best under incandescent light and cool colors are blues and violets which look good in moon light. Hence while buying a tourmaline one must examine it in various lights as its color appear different in different lights. Let’s study about tourmaline in various sub-groups for a better understanding. Colors: This is the most important aspect, as tourmaline comes in a wide variety of colours.

RUBELLITE TOURMALINE

These are most valuable and most rare stones. Colors vary from pale rose to deep ruby. The most important aspect to keep in mind is that more the impurities, darker the shade and lesser the price. One of the important characteristic of this stone is that it shows numerous colours when viewed from various angles. The rubellite tourmaline denotes lasting love, friendship and stability is relation ships.

ELBAITE TOURMALINE

This is generally know as the green tourmaline but can be in many colors. Most unique of these is watermelon tourmaline, which appears green on skin and red inside. One unique characteristic of this tourmaline is that it can have more than one color zone in the same crystal.

PARAIBA TOURMALINE

The name is derived from the Brazilian State of Paraiba where it was first found. Color is vivid, deep blue or bluish green. Paraiba tourmaline is considered the best quality of tourmaline.

YELLOW TOURMALINE

The color of this stone varies from electric yellow to little brownish. Yellow tourmalines are embedded in black layer which needs to be removed, before the stone is cut. The unique characteristic of the stone is that it has a slight sweet scent, hence it is also know as the “lemon tourmaline”.

BLUE TOURMALINE

True blue tourmaline is rare, as they mostly have slight shades of green in it. A blue tourmaline denotes high degree of harmony and is reported to bring openness and tolerance.

BLACK TOURMALINE

This is supposed to be the protector. It wards away harmful radiations from the wearer.

Cuts

Tourmalines looks good as round, triangles, trillions and ovals.

Prices

The prices of tourmaline vary tremendously as per the quality. But the most important thing to be understood is that the lighter the color the costlier the stone and the darker the colour the cheaper the stone. The darker colors obtain its color due to its excess impurities. The most expensive are the Paraiba tourmaline which is around 10,000$ per carat or even more. Generally the tourmalines are ranging from 50$ to 85$ per carat. But for bi-colours it can go up to $1000/ carat or more.

Size

The price of tourmaline does not depend on size but on weight of the stone. Generally tourmalines are less than 1 carat. Some qualities such as chrome and red tourmaline can be above 10 carats and Paraiba i.e. the costliest tourmaline is above 5 carats. Paraiba is considered the master piece.

Sources of tourmaline

The main source of tourmaline stones in Brazil. East African countries like Kenya, Tanzania, and Madagascar are known as the producer of Tourmaline. Except these Mexico and Sri Lanka are also good sources for these stones.

Caring Tips

Tourmaline is easy to maintain and stable under normal temperature conditions. Warm soapy water is the best to clean the stone. You can polish these stones with oil which also is supposed to hide scratches. One should protect the stone from too much heat and acids. One should also protect tourmaline from sharp blows and scratches.

Some interesting facts of tourmaline

• Pink tourmaline is supposed to provide grace and balance to a female. It also has protecting qualities.
• Green tourmaline is supposed to provide strength and vigor to males.
• Multi-colored tourmalines are considered to be the anniversary birthstones, especially lucky for the 8th year of marriage. So now all you husbands know what to gift to your sweethearts on this anniversary, right?
• Tourmaline is the stone for month of October.
• All tourmaline in any colour are considered gifts of nature, and are considered to vile away bad luck and misfortunes.
• Black tourmaline is the US STATE GEMSTONE of New York

Things to be kept in mind while buying a tourmaline ring

• QUALITY OF THE STONE?
• IS THE STONE REAL OR SYNTHETIC?
• TREATMENT DONE ON STONE?
• NOTICEABLE CHIPS, SCRATCHES OR INCLUSIONS TO BE AVOIDED.
• COLOR SHOULD BE EVEN THROUGHOUT THE STONE.

Some tips for buying tourmaline rings

• Silver/ white gold looks really good with tourmaline, especially with the cool colours like blues and ferozi.
• One should try to buy a ring with 3-4 small stones in various colours embedded in a unique combination and style, in the same ring. This looks really stylish and can be worn with all kinds of dresses.
• Always approach a registered jeweler before buying a tourmaline ring. One should be careful not to get a false stone, as it resembles a lot with glass and sold in fake coloured glass form.
• Tourmaline can be worn with both casual and formal wear. So one should keep in mind the ring design before picking up the stone.
• A big round tourmaline looks very attractive as a thumb ring. If you are the adventurous types you can go for this kind.
• Tourmaline has got healing properties so one should really take care before choosing the color for oneself. But one should also remember that this only has its maximum effect if it touches the body.
• If you are the creative kinds, you can buy a stone and get a ring made of your own design through a jeweler. But one should always approach a good jeweler as the embedding / fixing of the stone needs to be proper.
• Tourmaline and diamonds look really kewl, especially when one big stone is surrounded with small diamonds like a necklace.
• When using 2-3 colours of tourmaline in a ring, one should be careful of the colour combination. Best combinations are pink and blue, green and yellow.
• If you decide to buy a single stone ring, instead of buying a basic design with the stone in centre top of the ring, go for something unique like a curved ring with the stone slightly displaced on one side.
• Try mixing yellow and white gold for a tourmaline ring with a single stone. It looks really smart and different. But please pick a medium size stone for this design, as the emphasis has to be on the design as well as the stone. So now you are ready for a tourmaline ring, right?? What ru waiting for, go n get it!!