Collection: Blue tourmaline

The name tourmaline comes from “turmali” or “turamali” which is actually a Sinhalese name given to this fabulous stone from Sri Lanka by Dutch explorers at the beginning of the 18th century.

In Sri Lanka, legend has it that tourmaline comes from the sky and, as it descends to earth, passes through a rainbow that gives it its color variations. This explains the origin of its name, which means “the stone of a thousand colors.”

In fact, tourmaline has been known for thousands of years. Traces of this stone were found in the 3rd century BC. In Greece, it was Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) who brought this stone back from his expeditions. However, tourmaline, due to its many colors, has very often been confused with other minerals.

Thus, there are very few legends or myths attached to this stone due to its late identification. However, some tourmalines have piezoelectric properties, which means they have an electrical charge, negative at one pole and positive at the other pole. Tourmaline attracts particles to itself.

When the philosopher Theophrastus (-322-288) described a stone that had the ability to attract pieces of straw or wood, we understand that he was talking about tourmaline. Later in the 18th century, Dutch explorers used tourmaline to clean their pipes, as the stone attracted ashes.

As an anecdote, in the 16th century, a Spanish conquistador discovered a green tourmaline in Brazil, which he identified as an emerald. This discovery caused a rush in the Brazilian regions in search of these famous emeralds. The error was corrected in the 19th century and the emeralds transformed into tourmalines.

Often mistaken for precious stones, tourmalines are found in many pieces of jewelry, even in the British crown. Other examples include the Timur Ruby, a 352-carat jewel that was thought to be a ruby ​​until 1851, or the 170-carat Black Prince Ruby, which is actually a tourmaline.

Tourmaline is attracting increasing interest from connoisseurs and collectors. The Chinese Empress Cixi (1861-1908) was so fond of this stone that she began collecting it. She commissioned sculptures, brooches, watch clasps, rings, and other items to be made from it. Today, she rests on a cushion of tourmalines.

Tourmaline comes in various shades. They can also be bi-colored or multicolored. There is a wide variety of tourmalines, ranging from opaque to transparent, with striated or hexagonal structures. It has a rhombohedral crystal system. It is an igneous and metamorphic rock that can originate from hydrothermal deposits.

Thus, there are several types of tourmalines with varied compositions such as magnesium silicates, sodium silicates, iron silicates, clay silicates, fluorides, and borosilicate silicates. Tourmalines are actually a whole family of stones, which have the same internal structure, but differ in chemical composition and therefore in color and appearance.

Blue tourmaline is also known as indigolite or indicolite. It is a stone with a light to dark blue color. It is distinguished from other tourmalines by its transparent appearance in its raw form.

Its price remains moderate, but it will be higher when the stone is worked to adorn a piece of jewelry. In appearance, tourmaline closely resembles aquamarine, celestite, and blue fluorite.

It has a hardness of 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale. In comparison, diamond has the highest hardness of 10 on the same scale. It has an ideal hardness for jewelers.

The main deposits of blue tourmaline are located in Brazil and Pakistan.

Blue tourmaline is a stone of calm and serenity. It frees the mind from negative thoughts that frequently recur. It encourages loyalty in love and friendship, as well as honesty.

This beautiful stone of various shades of blue stimulates creativity, imagination, and inspiration. Its wearer encourages creativity in any artistic field (painting, photography, etc.). It is also recommended for students and those in career change, as it increases memory retention.

Blue tourmaline brings a beautiful open-mindedness and allows for lasting friendships. It encourages tolerance towards others, compassion, and understanding.

It lifts the veil on certain blockages often linked to childhood traumas by promoting introspection. It is an excellent meditation stone that helps to shed light on the cause of an apparent evil. It provokes the acceptance of past suffering to turn it into a strength: it is a stone of resilience.

Blue tourmaline helps develop spirituality and clairvoyance. It wards off surrounding negativity and provides a sense of happiness and spiritual well-being. It helps a person become a better, more ethical person. It is ideal for very materialistic people who want to gain spirituality.