Tourmalines can come in just about any color but the most commonly seen colors are pink (also called rubelite) and green. The most valuable tourmalines are paraiba tourmalines which are an aqua color that seems to glow in the dark. I’ve also seen brown, blue, and yellow tourmalines. Bi colored tourmalines are also seen in the marketplace and can be quite stunning. The most common color combination that I’ve seen is pink and green and is referred to as watermelon tourmaline.

In my collection I have 2 green tourmalines and a brown tourmaline.

The pictures below are my green tourmalines. These stones are pretty run of the mill. They are a very normal and good color for green tourmalines and they are rectangle cuts which is a cut that green tourmalines lend themselves to because of their crystal structure. The second stone is a very large and therefore rare stone that weighs almost 8.0 carats!

Green tourmaline’s can be an interesting alternative to Emeralds since green tourmalines are generally cleaner (very few inclusions) and have deeper color. It is also easier to find larger sizes of green tourmaline than it is to find large emeralds.

My other tourmaline is a brown tourmaline that has a hint of purple to it’s color. Some people might think it’s ugly because it’s brown but I think the color is really interesting and completely classy. This stone is also quite large and weighs over 10 carats.

I think tourmalines are beautiful stones. I tend to favor the more earthy colors but the rich and vibrant colors of pink and blue tourmalines are also stunning!

All of these stones are for sale; contact me at leah@leahashleydesigns.com if you are interested in purchasing any of them!

I went down this year to renew some contacts, make some new, and to see what was cool in the business this year. I attended both the AGTA and GJX shows. I know that means I missed way more than I saw, but at least I wasn’t tempted to buy anymore then I did at the 2 shows I went to. It is a recession after all.

Unfortunately the effects of the recession could definitly be seen. There were fewer booths and fewer buyers then in previous years. The technology pavilion at the AGTA show was at least 1/2 of what it usually is, for example. Despite this, there was still plenty to see and do.

Paraiba Tourmaline

Every year there seems be the ‘in’ stone that everyone is pushing. The last show I went to the popular stone was Tanzanite. While tanzanite is still a popular stone, it was easy to see that this years ‘in’ stone is Paraiba Tourmaline. Paraibas are a very, very rare blue-green colored stone that come from Brazil and Africa. It is so rare to find 1 karat Paraibas that the ones that are mined cost 5 digits per carat! I have to wonder, because they are so rare, if some of the stones that were shown as Paraiba, were actually a blue tourmaline that was close in color, but not actually a Paraiba.

Turquoise in a pearl

Another interesting idea I saw was in the Galatea booth. They have a new line with turquoise beads inside pearls. They get them by placing a turquoise bead in an oyster and waiting a year. After the oyster has had the time to make a pearl over the turquoise, they take it out and carve designs into the pearl so the turquoise shows through. They can also set a diamond into the pearl to create something I have never seen before.

Overall it was a great show. I had an excellent time seeing all the sites, made some great business connections, and got some great deals on stones to use in some design ideas I have. Stay tuned to see what I come up with!