All colors of tourmaline on second-hand jewelry

History of tourmaline

Tourmaline, a stone from the silicate family, was brought back to Europe in 1703 by the Dutch on their return from a trip to Sri Lanka.
The tourmaline will be called as such following this trip, its Sinhalese name coming from "turamali" which means "Stone of multiple colors". The colors are varied, they can be, pink, red, yellow, brown, green, blue, colorless, purple, black, there are many shades of colors. For the record, the Dutch called it “stone of the ashes” and the French “the magnet of Ceylon” because its piezoelectric properties cause it to be charged with electricity under pressure or heat. But it is definitely to its color varieties that it owes its success in jewelry.

The colors and varieties of tourmaline

Depending on their color, the stones take on various names:
-   Achroite: Colorless or nearly colorless
-   Rubellite: Pink to red, with a shade of purple.
-   Dravite: Yellow brown to dark brown.
-   Verdelite: All shades of green.
-   Indigolite or indicolite: Shades of blue.
-   Siberite: Lilac pink to purplish blue.
-   Schorl: Black.

We must mention the Paraiba tourmaline, of an extraordinary lagoon blue, the most sought after and the rarest. The tourmalines of this color, due to its high copper content, originally came from the Paraiba mine in Brazil, a mine that is now depleted. This designation now also applies to copper tourmalines with this incredible hue, in Mozambique and Nigeria. Dior Joaillerie, for example, presented sumptuous pieces with this gem.
We can also mention “watermelon” tourmalines (red/pink heart surrounded by green), as well as certain “cat's eye” tourmalines.
 
It is found in the four corners of the globe, from Brazil to Russia via Sri Lanka and even Europe (Italy and Switzerland). The deposits are also notably present in Afghanistan, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, Zimbabwe. 

Tourmaline in second-hand jewelry

Many jewelry houses appreciate the color palette of tourmalines. You will find our selection of used Pomellato rings with tourmalines, second-hand Boucheron jewelry adorned with tourmalines, but we particularly honored Bvlgari and its taste for “tutti frutti”. Here is for example one of second-hand Bulgari jewelry  with multiple colors that include, among other things, tourmalines.