Tourmaline? Any info/Suggestions?

[MINE!!]

I am looking at a green tourlamine by Richard Homer. I am pretty much having dreams about it...LOL.. I think that I have become addicted to gemstones. Can anyone give me any info about them? Care? What color gold would they look best with. Could it hold up to every day wear and tear ETC.
Thanks again everyone!

 

[Gale]

Have you contacted Richard about the stone of your dreams? He''s been more than helpful with me.

 

[MJO]

Hi Mine,

How are you going to set the tourmaline? I wear a Paraiba Tourmaline Pendent everyday for 3 years and have had no problems. I did wear a Paraiba in a bezel set ring everyday but it did chip. Unfortunately I sent it to someone I was dealing with for over a year to have it taken out and repolished and have a ruby set in the ring instead and he stole the stone. I would say that I would not were a tourmaline everyday in a ring unless you don''t mind having to have it repolished every few years.

 

[triphane]

Here is a stone guide on tourmaline that you may find helpful.

Tourmaline is also my favorite stone.

http://www.ntjusa.com/catalog/pala_pink_tourmaline.php

 

[MINE!!]

Date: 4/19/2005 3:15:23 PM
Author: MJO
Hi Mine,

How are you going to set the tourmaline? I wear a Paraiba Tourmaline Pendent everyday for 3 years and have had no problems. I did wear a Paraiba in a bezel set ring everyday but it did chip. Unfortunately I sent it to someone I was dealing with for over a year to have it taken out and repolished and have a ruby set in the ring instead and he stole the stone. I would say that I would not were a tourmaline everyday in a ring unless you don''t mind having to have it repolished every few years.

Ok.. So A Paraiba is a tourmaline? Is that a certain color. Would I to worry about all of them chipping (types of tourmaline?)

Thanks for everyone''s advice.

 

[triphane]

Paraiba type tourmaline is almost always heat treated to lighten the color, this would cause brittleness hence the constant chipping. Most natural tourmalines are very durable. Ask your jewler before you buy.

Hope this helped,
Erik

 

[triphane]

Furthermore,

Paraiba type tourmaline is colored by the element copper giving it that unmistakable blue-green color somewhat like gem silica. Most of the material is almost black when mined and then a heat treatment process is used to lighten the color. This copper tourmaline is only found in northern Brazil and Nigeria.

 

[MINE!!]

OK... another question then...

Date: 4/19/2005 4:22:50 PM
Author: triphane
Paraiba type tourmaline is almost always heat treated to lighten the color, this would cause brittleness hence the constant chipping. Most natural tourmalines are very durable. Ask your jewler before you buy.

Hope this helped,
Erik

SInce a garnet and a tourmaline have the same hardness.... 7.0-7.5 and Garnets are fine in rings and other jeweler for being "tough" is it only the heat treatment that comes into factor for making it ''more brittle?"

 

[MINE!!]

Here is a pic. of Richard Homer''s Gem.. it is soooo beautiful!

Date: 4/19/2005 4:29:25 PM
Author: MINE!!
OK... another question then...

Date: 4/19/2005 4:22:50 PM
Author: triphane
Paraiba type tourmaline is almost always heat treated to lighten the color, this would cause brittleness hence the constant chipping. Most natural tourmalines are very durable. Ask your jewler before you buy.

Hope this helped,
Erik

SInce a garnet and a tourmaline have the same hardness.... 7.0-7.5 and Garnets are fine in rings and other jeweler for being ''tough'' is it only the heat treatment that comes into factor for making it ''more brittle?''

 

[MJO]

Hi Mine,

All tourmaline does chip if banged around. It is not as hard as diamond or sapphire so you have to be more careful. Paraiba is an area (state) in brazil. In 1987 there was a find of unbelievable tourmaline that the best of it glows even in dim lighting. Pictures and words can''t describe it. You have to see it in person to understand it. The colors range from Violet/blue to green. The most expensive and rarest is the violet blue and blue, then green/blue, blue green and then green. One of the stones in my pendent is very small 1/2 carat but is the glowing blue. The other is a 1 1/2carat blue/green. These tourmalines have a high copper and gold content that is probubly the reason for the vivid colors. The mine is the size of a football field and is on a hillside where the hill is now leveled and hardly anything is still found. Only 2 other locations I know of have tourmaline colored by copper and neither have as high a copper content or gold content as the original mine. One is another mine in area in brazil and the other is in the OYO Region of Nigeria (which was joined to Brazil befor the contenants shifted). The colors my be the same but they are nowhere near as vivid as the best of the original mine.

Not all Paraiba Tourmaline is valuable just like all Burma Ruby or Kashmir sapphire. Only the top stone are what most people think of when you say Paraiba.

 

[triphane]

I would say yes, heat treatment is the biggest factor in brittleness for any tourmaline. You should always try to buy natrual non-treated gems.

 

[triphane]

In comparison natural non-treated tourmaline is as durable as garnet.

 

[MINE!!]

Date: 4/19/2005 4:34:53 PM
Author: triphane
I would say yes, heat treatment is the biggest factor in brittleness for any tourmaline. You should always try to buy natrual non-treated gems.

I have read others answers as well... I thought that sometimes though, some gems... and I say some, are not as beautiful as ones that are not treated... and you may pay a larger price for ones that are ''natural'' but do not look as good. Hmmmmm... many things to consider....

MJO.. ONCE again, yuo are such a plethora of information and I think would make a great novelist.. you have a way for description and words... hats off.. Thanks for the info!

 

[Sagebrush]

Mine,

Just a point of clarification. Not all tourmaline is heated and for the most part the green non-paraiba material is not. Heating in green tourmaline is used mainly to burn off the yellow secondary hue and is done at fairly low temperatures and I don''t believe that affects the toughness of the stone. I have two tourmaline rings, one I wore for over five years with little more than a few microscopic chips on the facet junctions. My stone was bezel set which protected the girdle.

Tourmaline and the "Hard" garnets, tsavorite, spessartite are rated 7-7.5 or about 7.25+- on the mohs scale of hardness. I think in practice tourmaline is ever so slightly harder.

MJO mentioned "Paraiba" a beautiful stone valued chiefly for its electric saturation. Be advised, Paraiba is not for the faint of pocketbook.

 

[MINE!!]

Thanks SOOO much Richard.

 

[MJO]

Mine,

Thank you. I have to admit I only know this information from the materials I've read and trial and error buying and playing with the stones . I have scoured the internet and other sources. One of my mentors (even though he doesn't know it) is Richard Wise. I have read his book many times over for his insights and have followed much of is advice. Richard the book is great and has saved me alot of time and money.

Richard you could be right . For me everyday wear includes digging in the yard, doing repair work in the house etc. This tends to scratch and chip stones more easily. I forgot most normal people take off their rings when they do those things. Also when I say chip I do mean at the facet meets. They are small but drive me crazy.

Also the green tourmaline is very nice. A nice bright stone.

 

[triphane]

Being a tourmaline miner and having sold several hundred kilos of tourmaline from all over the world for the past 10 years, I can tell you that you are correct most tourmaline is not treated. The heat treatment process is at a fairly low temperature of 700F-1200F this is to lighten the color by altering the iron and or manganese molecules. Tourmalines that need heat treatment are very dark almost black in appearance. Also the light colors can be irradiated to deepen the color or combinations of both treatments can be used to achieve the desired effect, Rubellite is most common to have been treated in this manner because when it is irradiated it often goes very dark then needs to be lightened. Afghan material is a good example, most of the tourmaline produced form this region is of very light color so it is sent to Pakistan for treatment at a nuclear facility.

There is no way to detect the treatment other then the added brittleness or if you know the source. The best way to know is by identifying the mine source or asking your jeweler. Certain mines are noted for fine natural colors with no material needing the extra help such as the tourmaline from Maine and California. Africa is known for natural deep colors but Maine and California have some of the best to offer although availability is scarce.

It has a lot to do with geology, the older the deposits have better colors because nature also uses natural radiation to achieve its colors. In age the Afghan deposits are possibly tens of thousands of years old the US deposits are about 100-150 million years and the African deposits are closer to a billion. It is a tough road to find the gem stone of your desire but if you have the right information and are satisfied with the quality and price go for it! There is nothing wrong with treated stones with full disclosure. But the price of a natural will always be higher.