Rough Green Tourmaline, 5-9mm

Stone: Rough Green Tourmaline
Size: 5-9mm
Location: Zambia

Although Tourmaline may be found on every continent, fine crystal specimens and gems are still considered rare and can be quite expensive. Its vast popularity as a gemstone began in 1876, when mineralogist and jeweler George Kunz sold a Green Tourmaline from Maine to the famous Tiffany and Co. in New York, and its desirability spread. More recently it has become a favorite of metaphysical collectors and practitioners for its versatile energy properties. [Simmons, 406]

Tourmaline belongs to a complex family of aluminum borosilicates mixed with iron, magnesium, or other various metals that, depending on the proportions of its components, may form as red, pink, yellow, brown, black, green, blue or violet. Its prismatic, vertically striated crystals may be long and slender, or thick and columnar, and are uniquely triangular in cross-section. They often vary in coloration within a single specimen, lengthwise or in cross sections, and may be transparent or opaque. The name Tourmaline comes from an ancient Sinhalese word turmali, meaning “a mixed color precious stone,” or turamali, meaning “something small from the earth.”[Mella, 110][Simmons, 406][Megemont, 182]

One of Tourmaline’s most distinguishing properties is its ability to become electrically charged simply by heating or rubbing it. When charged, one end becomes positive and the other negative, allowing it to attract particles of dust or bits of paper. This property of pyroelectricity (from heat) or piezoelectricity (from pressure or rubbing) was well-known to the Dutch traders of the 1700s who used Tourmaline to pull ash from their Meerschaum pipes, calling the stone Aschentrekker, or “ash puller.” [Simmons, 406]