Boasting a colorful and romantic history, Tourmaline rivals all but the most unique gems as it is found in an incredible array of gorgeous colors. Coming in a palette of over 100 different hues, Tourmaline is one of the world’s most diverse gemstones. This has resulted in the nickname “the chameleon gem,” which is doubly appropriate when you consider that one major source of Tourmaline is Madagascar, home to more than half of the world’s chameleon species!

While Tourmalines occur in large crystal sizes, Tourmaline of sufficient beauty to be set into jewelry is not available in great abundance. Because of their size, crystals are sometimes cut into long rectangular shapes following the axis of the crystal.
Tourmaline crystals occur in granitic pegmatite veins occurring in the great gem mining districts of Minas Gerais in Brazil, and the East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar.

In the summer of 1998 a new Tourmaline deposit was unearthed near the city of Ibadan in Nigeria, West Africa, proving to be one of the most significant Tourmaline discoveries in modern times.

Tourmaline is a group of mineral species. However, it’s the mineral Elbaite (named after the island of Elba near Italy’s west coast where it was discovered) that is responsible for almost all of Tourmaline’s most famous gem varieties. When used, the name “Elbaite” typically references Green Tourmaline, while the other colors of Elbaite have their own specific color-related names.

Tourmaline very occasionally displays the cat’s eye effect. Chatoyancy or the cat’s eye effect is a reflection effect that appears as a single bright band of light across the surface of a gemstone.

All Tourmalines can display pleochroism, meaning that its color changes when viewed at different angles. However, this can vary from specimen to specimen. In some, this effect is hardly noticeable, while in others it is strongly apparent. To bring out the best color, gemstone cutters must take this into account when faceting Tourmaline.

ALMANDINE Fe3Al2(SiO4)3 vöröses barnától a barnáig
ANDRADITE Ca3Fe2(SiO4)3 barna, fekete vagy zöld
GROSSULAR Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 színtelen, narancs vagy zöld
PYROPE Mg3Al2(SiO4)3 sötét vöröstől a rubinvörösig

SPESSARTINE Mn3Al2(SiO4)3 narancs, rózsaszín vagy barna (Malaya gránát az Umba folyó völgyéből Tanzániából és Kenyából)

UVAROVITE Ca3Cr2(SiO4)3 zöld

Népszerű gránát fajták:

Pyrope (also called Bohemian garnet, or Cape ruby) is the best know of all garnets. This gem is a deep rich red. This gem is very inexpensive.
Rhodolite: Raspberry red to dark bubble gem pink. Prices are nicely affordable.
Umbalite: Pink to peachy pink. Hard to find and can be costly.
Hessonite: Rich burnt orange to reddish orange. These can get pricey for gems over 1 carat in size.
Spessartite: Red with flashes of orange. Can be dark with brown undertones. Medium price range
Mandarine: Fantastic bright orange. Rare and pricey.
Mali: medium green-yellow (chartreuse) color
Tsavorite: Bright green. These gems are becoming extremely popular and prices continues to rise. Tsavorite is usually not found in large sizes. Gems above 2 carats are rare and can run into the thousands of dollars.
Demantoid: Light green, yellow green, yellow brown. Not found in large sizes. Gems above 2 carats are rare and can run into many thousands of dollars.

A Visegrád környéki amfibolandezit képződményekben gyakori kőzetalkotó ásvány a hipersztén. A bronzit a hipersztén izomorfja.