does afghanistan have top quality tourmaline??
- Thread starter nikkis34
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Run of the mill, from Kunar. the larger pieces are about 10-15 cts. It does get better...
mike04456
Brilliant_Rock
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Top quality? No--the best tourmaline comes from Brazil and some sources in Africa. But as Mogok says, Afghanistan does produce some nice rubelite, among other varieties. It's known mainly for its rubies and emeralds.
Qualities of tourmaline (as with all colored stones) are determined primarily by color. To tell commercial from fine from superfine, you have to look at a lot of different stones under some competent instruction. Clarity is a lesser issue, esp. with tourmaline, which can be highly included, but as might be expected, eye-clean stones are worth more than ones with visible inclusions.
Qualities of tourmaline (as with all colored stones) are determined primarily by color. To tell commercial from fine from superfine, you have to look at a lot of different stones under some competent instruction. Clarity is a lesser issue, esp. with tourmaline, which can be highly included, but as might be expected, eye-clean stones are worth more than ones with visible inclusions.
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There is some excellent quality tourmaline coming from Afghanistan and Pakistan as well. I disgree with the statement that top quality tourmaline comes only from Brazil. Simply not true. As the images kindly placed by Anna illustrate.
Tourmaline has, for too long, been graded by what I call the "look alike" standard. Under this standard. Green tourmaline is valued by how closely it resembles emerald. Tourmaline has very different qualities. It will rarely show either the purity of hue or the wonderful limpid crystal of the finest of emerald. When compared to emerald, tourmaline has what Max Bauer called "feeble refraction" thus lacking the potential refraction of the finest emerald and is much more dichoric meaning that it will always exhibit what I call "multi-color" effect which is considered a defect in emerald.
As Anna''s images show, the lighter toned greens are really more beautiful than the darker "emerald like" hues. The market is beginning to recognize this, Paraiba established what tourmaline lacked, that is a tourmaline aristoracy like Burma-Ruby and Kashmir Sapphire as well as a "native standard" for tourmaline grading.
Enough for now, I cover this topic (surprise, surprise) fairly extensively in my book
Tourmaline has, for too long, been graded by what I call the "look alike" standard. Under this standard. Green tourmaline is valued by how closely it resembles emerald. Tourmaline has very different qualities. It will rarely show either the purity of hue or the wonderful limpid crystal of the finest of emerald. When compared to emerald, tourmaline has what Max Bauer called "feeble refraction" thus lacking the potential refraction of the finest emerald and is much more dichoric meaning that it will always exhibit what I call "multi-color" effect which is considered a defect in emerald.
As Anna''s images show, the lighter toned greens are really more beautiful than the darker "emerald like" hues. The market is beginning to recognize this, Paraiba established what tourmaline lacked, that is a tourmaline aristoracy like Burma-Ruby and Kashmir Sapphire as well as a "native standard" for tourmaline grading.
Enough for now, I cover this topic (surprise, surprise) fairly extensively in my book
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