Magical Tourmaline

Magical tourmaline, one of the birthstones for October

Hello October!

Not only the start of summer in the southern hemisphere but also the month that boasts two of our favourite gemstones as birthstones: tourmaline and opal.

Tourmaline was introduced to the Western world in the early 1700’s when traders brought them back from Sri Lanka. They were called turamali, meaning mixed colours. An apt name, as tourmalines have the greatest colour variance of all gemstones. From indicolite (shades of blue), to rubellite (from intense hot pink to red), verdelite (green to yellow) and even bi-colour and watermelon tourmalines. There is a colour for every taste, mood and budget. 

Reaching 7 – 7.5 on Moh’s scale of hardness, it is a stone that can be set in jewellery and worn without worrying too much about wear and tear. If you want a pair of tourmaline earrings be warned: it is one of the most difficult stones to match up into pairs because of the extensive colour range.

On the esoteric side, tourmaline is believed to break up negative energy and point to specific problems that one may be carrying. As a healing crystal, tourmaline helps you understand yourself and others.