Multiple Choice

The Tourmaline is truly a rainbow gemstone
It seems that on its long way up from the centre of the earth,the Tourmaline romanced the rainbow and collected all its colours. Hence,even today it justifies being called ‘Gemstone of the Rainbow’. Technically,Tourmaline is not a singular mineral but an assemblage of minerals with related physical and chemical properties. Tourmalines are precious stones demonstrating a unique splendour of colours. The Tourmaline bouquet offers Verdelite (green),Rubelite (pink to red),Indicolite (blue variants),Dravite (brown),Schorl (black),colourless,white,yellow,orange,bi-colour and tricolour. Paraiba Tourmaline is a gorgeous neon- blue variety of Tourmaline. It is a tough stone and is available from transparent to opaque. The foremost use of Tourmaline was by the Greeks,who imported the gem from Asia in the 2nd century BC. The word Tourmaline comes from the Sinhalese term,‘tora malli’ meaning any unidentified coloured stone and literally means ‘something out of the earth’. Many jewels in the Russian Crown Jewels from the 17th century once thought to be rubies are actually Tourmaline. The expressive pink Tourmaline was much fancied by The Empress Dowager Tz’u Hsi,the last Empress of China. She bought almost a ton of it from the New Himalaya Mine in California which is still game but the Empress went to rest eternally on a carved Tourmaline pillow. This multi-coloured wonder also stirs much interest in scientists as it changes its electrical charge when heated. This property was noticed long before science could explain it. They were called ‘aschentrekkers’ because they attracted ashes and could be used to clean pipes. Like most coloured gemstones,Tourmaline is evaluated by the transparency and passion of colour. Clarity is an important factor in almost all except Rubelite and Paraiba varieties. Price remains unaffected by permanent treatments such as heat and irradiation. The stone’s beauty stands unaltered irrespective of its setting and design sensibility. Bottom line is that you may enhance any colour outfit with its lovely multi-hued strands.

P.S: The prominent Tourmaline varieties shall be discussed singularly in following issues. Any specific inquiries are welcome.

(The writer is a city-based researcher specialising in jewellery art and can be contacted at sameeraahaan02@gmail.com)