What is the History of Tourmaline Gemsto ...

What is the History of Tourmaline Gemstones

Nov 27, 2020

Tourmaline is a gemstone with a colorful past. In the 1500s in Brazil, a Spanish conquistador discovered a gemstone in the dirt and mistook it for a brilliant emerald. This confusion lived on for centuries until the 1800s, when scientists recognized tourmaline as a distinct mineral.

The misinformation about the gemstone’s identity is even represented in its name, which comes from “toramalli,” a word in Sri Lankan language, meaning “mixed gems.” One of the first reports of tourmaline in America was in California in 1892.

All thanks to the efforts of George F. Kunz, a gemologist working for Tiffany and Co., California Tourmaline is known as an American gemstone.

Tourmaline in America: The great colored gemstone mines of the world are mainly in Africa, South America, and Asia. In fact, most people don’t think of the United States when they think of colored gemstones. However, Oregon Sun-stone and Montana Sapphire are known internationally. But sadly, the USA is certainly not up there with Afghanistan, Brazil, Burma, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania as the finest source of colored gemstones.

That was not always true. In fact, at one time the USA was very famous for its tourmaline. The last Empress of China’s Dowager Empress Tz’u Hsi loved the pink tourmaline mined in California. She bought vast quantities of it, especially for carving.

Under her influence, China’s appetite for this gemstone created a boom in the California tourmaline industry after 1902, especially at the Himalaya Mine in California. But the boom ended soon after the death of the Empress in 1908.

Tourmaline Mines in California: Tourmaline from this region can be found in a variety of colors except for blue and yellow. Some of the mines, there have been in operation since the 1800s.

The most famous ones in the state are the Himalaya Mine, the Ocean-view Mine, and the Pala Chief Mine, also known as the Stewart Mine.

The Himalaya Mine is located near Henshaw Lake in San Diego County. The mines are open to the public, and for a minimal fee, you will get all the equipment needed for a day of gemstone hunting.

The Oceanview Mine, located in Pala, California, and is also open to the public. In addition to renting out gemstone hunting equipment, gemstone hunters can even see actual Gemstones being mined.

The Stewart Mine is located near the Oceanview Mine. In the late 1800s, It had one of the most extensive pink tourmaline mining operations. The Stewart mine is not open to the public, but buckets of pilings from the mine re-offered.

Tourmaline FROM Stewart Mine, Tourmaline Queen Mountain, Pala, Pala District, San Diego Co., California, USA The production of fine tourmaline in the USA was not confined to just California. In fact, in 1822, the first American tourmaline discoveries were made in the state of Maine.

With California becoming a producer of tourmaline only 80 years later. In fact, tourmaline was the first gemstone ever mined in the United States by miners other than native or prehistoric Americans. 

The tourmaline mining began at Mount Mica, Maine, and New Hampshire. With a few interruptions, it has continued to the present day. During the early 1900s, California and Maine were the world’s largest producers of tourmaline gemstones. The Maine deposits tend to produce crystals in raspberry pink-red as well as minty greens. The California deposits are known for their bright pinks, as well as interesting bicolours.

Records suggest that from 1898 to 1914, the Himalaya Mine in San Diego County was the world’s largest tourmaline producer. In 1904, tourmaline production from the mine was at least 5.5 metric tons. Later in 1989, after 84 years, a single pocket in the mine was discovered that produced over 500 kilograms of tourmaline.

Mount Mica may have been the first to produce tourmalines in Maine, but by no means is it the largest. Newry Hill, a spur off Plumbago Mountain in Maine, is the most prolific tourmaline producer.
Since its discovery in 1898, tourmaline production from the mine has exceeded thousands of kilograms of high-quality.

Today most tourmaline comes from Afghanistan, Brazil, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania, with other deposits in Mozambique and Nigeria. Today, the cost of mining the remaining tourmaline in California and Maine has become prohibitively high. However, undoubtedly more deposits of excellent material are waiting to be discovered.

What to Look for in Tourmaline Gemstone: Knowing what you need to look for when searching for tourmaline is part of the hunting process. For example, the more iron-rich gemstones are usually black, bluish-black, or deep brown. The lithium-rich tourmaline comes in colors such as green, red, and pink. The majority of the tourmaline is multi-colored. There is also a colorless variety of the gemstone. However, it is rare to find a tourmaline without any color in it.


Tourmaline is often found with metamorphic rocks such as pegmatites, which contain crystals such as quartz and mica. It's also a good idea to find out in advance what kind of tourmaline is most commonly found at the mine you're going to visit.

For example, if the mine usually has a lot of the watermelon type of tourmaline, then you will know to look for gemstones that are green with a pink core.
Where to Buy Tourmaline? We would recommend you take a look at the great selection of tourmaline pieces in the following online gemstones or jewelry retailers.

Gandhara Gemstones: Gandhara Gemstones is the leading precious and semi-precious gemstone retailer with both online and offline presence; they have a sterling reputation in the industry and have an excellent modern purchasing experience. Check out their incredible assortment of Tourmaline Gemstones.

GemSelect: Gem Select is definitely one of the larger gemstone retailers in general, but they have an extensive tourmaline collection,

AJS Gems: AJS Gems isn’t as well known, but they have now established a sterling reputation in the industry, with an excellent purchasing experience. Check out their collection of tourmaline,

Gem Rock Auctions: Gem Rock Auctions has some stunning gemstones and are typically featured in auctions. They actually do have an incredible assortment of tourmaline,

GemPundit: GemPundit is another legally-established gemstone retailer with both an online and offline presence. GemPundit happens to have a healthy collection of tourmaline Online

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