| Gemstones |
| Tourmaline |
| Also a birthstone for those born in October, tourmaline is thought to affect different items depending on its color: Red is associated with sexuality, grounding and survival. Orange is linked to relationships, pleasure and creativity. Yellow is related to metabolism, anxiety and fear. Green is thought to benefit communication, and expression. Violet helps intuition and intellect. Both green and pink tourmaline are said to encourage love and compassion. Black tourmaline is thought to protect its wearer against negativity and brown tourmaline is believed to be a cleansing stone. Watermelon tourmaline is said to encourage unconditional love. |
| Colors: | Tourmaline gemstones can be found in all colors. Some of the more popular ones are pink-red 'rubellite', blue-green 'paraiba', blue 'indicolite' and multicolor 'watermelon tourmaline'. Lesser-known trade names include colorless 'achroite', green 'verdelite' and 'chrome tourmaline'. |
| Shapes: | Tourmaline is usually cut into long rectangular shapes due to the way it forms in nature. |
| Origin: | Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, Burma (Myanmar), India, Italy, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, the United States,Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe. |
| Care: | Protect from scratches, sharp objects, and extreme temperature changes. |
| Notes: | The most valuable and rare tourmaline is neon green-blue Paraiba tourmaline. When buying tourmaline, color intensity and saturation are the most important factors. |