Pink Tourmaline

Tourmaline is a member of the silicate group - a large classification of minerals, which includes familiar gemstones, such as garnet, aquamarine, emerald, opal, amethyst, topaz and peridot. It is most closely related to quartz and opal. The name Tourmaline (from the Singhalese turmali or "mixed") represents a subgroup of minerals in this group with similar physical characteristics and chemical properties. All tourmalines share the same crystal form and molecular structure.

Chemically, tourmaline is one of the most complex of all minerals, which accounts for its extraordinary range of colors. Different varieties occur in black, clear, green, pink, red, blue, yellow, brown, orange, purple and white, sometimes with two or more colors sharing the same crystal.

Tourmaline crystals are hexoganal (six-sided) and usually elongated (longer than they are wide), striated (marked by many thin, parallel grooves) and prismatic (sides are similar in length and width). The typical shape can best be described as pencil-shaped crystals of varying length.

Tourmaline has a vitreous (glassy) luster, and a hardness of between 7 and 7.5 on the Moh's scale, making it slightly more resistant to scratches than Amethyst and Citrine, but a little more scratch-prone than Topaz. Tourmaline's average specific gravity is 3.15, making it moderate in weight for its size.

The most common tourmaline colors are pink and the less-exotic shades of green.   Tourmaline is found throughout the world. Significant sources for the mining of gem quality tourmaline are Brazil, Africa (Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Tanzania), Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The United States (particularly southern California and Maine), Italy, Myanmar, Nepal and the USSR are also notable sources of gem deposits. 

Pink tourmaline symbolizes friendship, compassion, transformation and humanitarianism. It's the modern birthstone for October and the gemstone for the 8th wedding anniversary. It is sometimes considered an alternate gemstone for the 5th anniversary.

The name Tourmaline comes from a Sinhalese (Sri Lankan) word turamali - loosly translated as "mixed" and used to describe assortments of multicolored gemstone pebbles found in local regions where sand and sediment were once deposited by running water.

Probably the most unusual qualities of tourmaline are its electrical properties. Due to its atomic structure, tourmaline can generate an electric charge when heated (pyroelectricity) or when subjected to friction (piezoelectricity). These characteristics were first mentioned in an anonymous document published in 1707 and were a subject of fascination among notable scientists of the 18th century, including France's M. Louis Lemery, German physicist Franz Aepinus, and even Benjamin Franklin! Carl Linnaeus, the famous Swedish botanist and the father of modern taxonomy, dubbed tourmaline "The Electrical Stone."  

Tourmaline's wide ranges of colors have intrigued people for centuries. In ancient Egypt, legend had it that tourmaline acquired it's many colors by traveling along a rainbow in a journey from the earth to the sun. Other civilizations thought that thought wearing tourmaline could help one become more artistic and aesthetically inclined.

In Holland, tourmaline was once known as Aschentrekker or "ash attractor" . A charming tale has it that this name was coined by Dutch children, who saw tourmaline crystals in the marketplace displays of Dutch traders and noticed that the stone attracted ashes and dust. It's more likely that the term was given by Dutch jewelers, who would have been testing this new gem by applying heat to the stone around the time this moniker first came into use. 

Pink tourmaline is a gentle stone that directly touches the heart! The color varies widely from pale pink to deep red.

Created by Karen Kroha $100

Relaxing and nurturing, pink tourmaline is associated with feminine energies. It vibrates a deep resonance with the heart chakra. It has the potential to heal emotional wounds with its soft, soothinig energy to bring feelings of comfort and safety.

Pink Tourmaline opens your ability to surrender to love!

Created by Karen Kroha $80

• Emotional balancer and cleanser
• Alleviates stress and obsessive behaviour
• Assists in changing patterns to better align with spiritual growth
• Radiates kindness, tolerance

Combine pink tourmaline with these stones:

• Use with Rose Quartz, Morganite, Kunzite, Rhodonite, Rhodochrosite, Malachite, Dioptase to restore love
• Use with Black Tourmaline to relieve stress, worry or obsessive behavior