Tourmaline: meaning, properties and lore

The mineral

Tourmaline is classed by mineralogists as a supergroup, since its structure tolerates broad chemical variation, and it is not one species. Over 40 species are recognised, with elbaite, liddicoatite, dravite, uvite and schorl as the main ones. As a complex boron-aluminum cyclosilicate, it contains silicon, aluminum and boron in its structure.¹⁸⁷²

The idealized chemical formula is XY3Z6(T6O18)(BO3)3V3W, and elbaite is written Na(Li1.5,Al1.5)Al6Si6O18(BO3)3(OH)4. Liddicoatite has the general formula (Ca)(Li2Al)Al6Si6O18(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) and was first distinguished as a separate species in 1977. Elbaite is the species of most gem tourmalines, and the majority of gem-quality tourmaline is elbaite or fluor-elbaite.¹³⁴⁷⁸²

Tourmaline is rated 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness, and its toughness is considered Fair. It is generally stable to light and is not affected by exposure to chemicals, but high heat can alter its colour and sudden temperature change can cause it to fracture. Its refractive index runs from 1.624 to 1.644, and its birefringence from 0.018 to 0.040.⁵³⁶

Tourmaline crystallizes in the trigonal system, and it forms elongate prismatic crystals with a triangular cross section. Crystals are often significantly colour zoned, because the nutrient solution changes as the stone grows, and the species is strongly pleochroic. A tourmaline's chemical composition directly influences its physical properties and is responsible for its colour.³⁸⁹⁷

Traces of iron, and possibly titanium, are generally agreed to induce green and blue colours, while manganese produces reds and pinks. Some pink and yellow stones may owe their hues to radiation-induced colour centres. Its range of colours, from reds and pinks to greens, yellows and blues, is unrivalled among gems.³⁷¹⁰

Tourmaline is found in Brazil, Madagascar, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kenya, Mozambique and Nigeria, and in Maine and California in the United States. Most of the tourmaline mined in Brazil over the centuries comes from pegmatites in Minas Gerais. Black tourmaline in irregular crystals is generally characteristic of the granitic pegmatite dikes west of the summit of the Peninsula Range in California.⁵¹¹¹

Rubellite, the red variety, occurs near Pala in San Diego County, California, as radiated crystal aggregates, and its crystals there are often fifteen inches long. Rubellite was also found at Tarrangower, Victoria, in Broadford Lead. The Paraíba tourmaline is an elbaite from one area of Paraíba state in Brazil's northeast corner, and its blue to green colour is caused mainly by copper.^1112928

History and lore

The Dutch first brought tourmaline to Europe from Ceylon, and the name is thought to be of Cingalese origin. According to The Magic of Jewels and Charms, the name comes from turmali, the term Ceylon's natives used for the stone. A different derivation, from the Sinhalese toramalli meaning stone with mixed colors, also circulates, so accounts of the name differ.^1314510

Dutch children were said to be the first to notice tourmaline attracting ash and straw in Amsterdam, and Dutch lapidaries called the stone Aschentrekker, or Ash-Attractor. Linnaeus bestowed upon tourmaline the name of the Electrical Stone. Lémery reported its attractive properties to the French Academy of Sciences in 1717, though he inclined to attribute them to magnetic influence.¹⁴

Aepinus made his experiments on two Ceylon tourmalines, and his conclusions were communicated to the Berlin Academy of Sciences in 1756. Franklin wrote to Dr. William Haberden on June 7, 1759, about two tourmalines Haberden had sent him, and mounted the larger one in a ring. Theophrastus, in the third century B.C., may have referred to green tourmaline when he wrote that the true emerald appeared to have been produced from jasper.¹⁴

Tavernier's Travels records Bohemian red pebbles that were found to contain rubies, of which only two of a hundred held a ruby. Francisco Spinoza's expedition discovered Brazilian emerald in 1554, the first recorded green tourmaline crystal. Before modern mineralogy, people identified tourmaline as ruby, sapphire or emerald based on its colour.¹²³¹⁰

Tourmaline appears in the Chinese mandarin rank table as the stone of the first rank, together with ruby and rubellite, with red or pink tourmaline given the preference. The Chinese Dowager Empress Tz'u Hsi was especially fond of pink tourmaline, and Chinese craftsmen carved San Diego County stone into snuff bottles. Her demand led to a dramatic increase in mining of the San Diego County pegmatites in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.¹⁵¹⁰¹

Maine's first major tourmaline deposit was discovered in 1820 at Mount Mica in Paris by two young boys exploring the local area. In 1898, California's first commercial tourmaline mine opened at the Himalaya pegmatite in the Mesa Grande district. George F. Kunz, of Tiffany & Co., popularised tourmaline when he wrote about the tourmaline deposits of Southern California in 1905.⁵¹¹⁰

Birthstone and other links

The October birthstone link is recorded in more than one list. The American birthstone list gives green tourmaline as the May stone, found at Lake Superior, and rubellite as the December stone, found in Montana.³¹⁵

The author of the birthstone discussion in The Curious Lore of Precious Stones says tourmaline, as a gem only known in modern times or since the eighteenth century, seems out of place in the list of birth-stones. Tourmaline is given to celebrate the eighth wedding anniversary, according to the anniversary listing recorded by Gemological Institute of America.¹⁵⁵³

Crystal practitioners associate tourmaline with the 52nd wedding anniversary, a link that is modern. The Curious Lore of Precious Stones also lists tourmaline among stones associated with an omen-style entry in which tourmalines are said to signify an accident.¹⁵

What crystal practitioners say

Crystal practitioners associate tourmaline with protection, and the views about it are stated in several forms. Traditional interpretations hold that tourmaline forms an energetic barrier against negative influences.⁵

Practitioners link tourmaline with the mind and the heart. Pink tourmaline is said by believers to embody love and be associated with compassion and gentleness. Green tourmaline is believed to promote courage, strength and stamina. Writers of The Magic of Jewels and Charms hold that a fine tourmaline answers the idea of a talismanic gem better than any other beautiful crystal.⁵¹⁴

Chinese priests use pink tourmaline and rubellite to decorate the sheath of the marriage sword at ceremonies. These uses come from the stone's ceremonial role rather than from any claim about its physical effects.¹⁴

Crystal healers, writing in The Healing Crystals First Aid Book, describe tourmaline as applied in specific ways. Black tourmaline is placed on the aching spot with the point downwards, which the book says gives the most effective outcome. Green tourmaline is said to be most effective worn as a bracelet, necklace or pendant.¹⁶

Practitioners describe the stone's electrical behaviour as part of its meaning. Tourmaline's conductive ability is said to be used to stimulate and guide the flow of energy and liquids within the body, according to crystal practitioners, while the claim that it helps the flow of water is held by the same tradition.¹⁶

What testing has found

Edzard Ernst, who analysed 150 complementary and alternative treatments, found no rigorous trials that test whether crystal healing has therapeutic value. He also stated that no scientific proof exists of any positive effect from crystal healing beyond placebo. Jarry argues that alternative medicine's reputation is helped by non-specific placebo effects, since people who feel better speak about it publicly.¹⁷

In 2001, British psychologist Christopher French ran a study in which 80 volunteers, after holding crystals and meditating, had to distinguish genuine crystals from imitations. French's team concluded that crystals gave people no real help and that suggestion was responsible instead.¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹

Ernst could not locate the French paper online and suspects it exists only as a conference abstract. Crystal therapy findings have not been reproduced in larger studies, which makes broad generalisation difficult. Some researchers believe crystals probably do not act directly on physical or psychological complaints, though they may offer indirect benefits that the placebo effect explains.¹⁷¹⁸

Scientists remain skeptical of crystal therapy because few studies have compared it to other therapies or explained how it works. Ted Kaptchuk, a Harvard Medical School professor, argues that placebo outcomes in unconventional medicine should not be discarded from knowledge of health care. Crystal healers and other practitioners of alternative medicine often show a great degree of empathy and emphasise discussion with the patient.¹⁸