Introduced to Europeans in the 1700’s, Tourmaline became known as the Muse’s stone and is said to assist in the creative flow of artists across many mediums

Fun Facts
Tourmaline contains pyro-electric properties. The Dutch discovered tourmaline’s ability to attract dust and ash when heated, and used the long, slender crystals to clean their meerschaum pipes by drawing out the ashes

Today this property, creating strong polarity, is used in hair styling tools

Tourmalines also have a piezoelectric effect that was first applied in underwater sonar systems and ultrasound technology
during the second world war

Colors
 Tourmaline’s strong pleochroism, which means that the color appears differently based on the direction in which it is viewed, requires great skill in cutting to optimize the face-up color

Renewed artisanal mining activity in the Araçuai-Salinas district (made famous in the 1970’s and 1980’s) is producing unique colors as seen above

Mining
The Cruzeiro Mine has been commercially operational since the 1940’s when the US mined mica there during WWII for electronic components.  Since the 1950’s, it has produced fine quality rubellite, indicolite, bi-color and emerald green tourmalines 

Paraiba
Tourmaline ranges dramatically in demand and value, and the most desired is the Paraiba tourmaline from Paraiba, Brazil.  A relative newcomer in the gemstone world, these brilliant blue and green elbaite tourmalines were discovered in the late 1980’s.  Because of their scarcity and electric colors, caused by trace amounts of copper and manganese, they are now one of the most coveted gemstones in the world

In June of this year the island of Sri Lanka was hit by terrible flooding in the aftermath of tropical cyclone Mora. As a result a hill collapsed outside the gem trading town of Ratnapura, destroying at least fifteen homes and burying dozens of people. So far the casualty count for the flooding is around 150 people.  In an effort to help our friends and colleagues in the area, RareSource has partnered with the AGTA in donating to the Ratnapura Relief Fund. To give money to the Ratnapura Relief Fund, contact the AGTA at info@agta.org or 800-972-1162

 

We are pleased to announce that Edward has been asked to speak at this years Sinkankas Symposium. The symposium is an event where noted experts within the gem community are each asked to give a presentation on an aspect of the current years topic. Edward will be presenting on the relevant topic of Sapphire Origin Determination: Past and Present.  The event will be hosted at the Gemological Institute of America’s  Robert Mouawad Campus in Carlsbad, California.

The team at RareSource would like to thank everyone who visited our booth and contributed to our successful show.  As usual our booth was filled with a large assortment of untreated and special gems. Some of our favorites included a 20ct tsavorite garnet, a 11ct+ vivid red spinel from Tanzania and a 14ct rich green paraiba tourmaline. As we reflect on the show  we are once again reminded how blessed we are to be able to work in such an incredibly diverse trade that is filled with so many friends.  We look forward to seeing you at the next show.