Tourmaline-supergroup minerals and gem varieties
The tourmaline supergroup and its colour, colour-zoned and trade varieties; tourmaline is not a single mineral species.
What this family is
Rank is what people get wrong: tourmaline names a supergroup covering a chemistry range, and elbaite is one species within it. Rubellite, indicolite, verdelite and watermelon describe colour or zoning. Paraíba names a copper- and manganese-bearing variety whose element content and colour criteria must be confirmed, and the name is not proof of Brazilian origin.
Scope of this family
The tourmaline supergroup and its colour, colour-zoned and trade varieties; tourmaline is not a single mineral species.
Representative members (7)
The standard materials in this family: mineral species, varieties, rocks and other materials whose name identifies what they are. Trade names are listed separately below.
Common confusions
Names in this family that do not by themselves say what the material is, and man-made or assembled products recorded against its materials. Each line says what the item actually is.
Trade names in this family
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| Name | Type of name | What it actually is |
|---|---|---|
| Black Tourmaline | Trade name: colour / appearance variety | A commercial colour name for black tourmaline, usually but not always the tourmaline species schorl; it is not a separate mineral species itself. |
| Canary Tourmaline | Trade name: colour / appearance variety | A trade variety name for bright yellow tourmaline; there is no unified colour-grading standard, and the cause of colour and any treatment must be determined by testing. |
| Chrome Tourmaline | Trade name: colour / appearance variety | A trade variety name for tourmaline coloured green by chromium; it must be confirmed that the green really comes from chromium, and both the cause of colour and any treatment must be tested. |
| Lagoon Tourmaline | Trade name: colour / appearance variety | A trade name for blue-green tourmaline, historically associated with specific material from Afghanistan; there is no international standard for this trade name. |
| Paraíba Tourmaline | Trade name: geographic / origin-linked name | A copper- and manganese-bearing blue to green Tourmaline variety, mostly elbaite or liddicoatite; the name comes from Paraíba in Brazil but does not prove origin. |
| Watermelon Tourmaline | Trade name: colour / appearance variety | A trade name for tourmaline patterned in pink and green colour zones, usually elbaite; “watermelon” describes the colour banding and is not a mineral species name. |
Member entries (13)
Treatments recorded on member entries
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| Treatment | Member entries | Disclosure requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Heated / Heat-treated | Achroite, Black Tourmaline, Canary Tourmaline, Chrome Tourmaline, Elbaite, Indicolite, Lagoon Tourmaline, Paraíba Tourmaline, Rubellite, Tourmaline, Verdelite, Watermelon Tourmaline | Heating is a common treatment, and acceptance varies by material. Whether heated ruby or sapphire must be declared separately depends on which code is followed (see the comparison on this page); unstable colour or foreign residues must be disclosed. |
| Filled / Fracture-filled | Achroite, Black Tourmaline, Canary Tourmaline, Chrome Tourmaline, Elbaite, Indicolite, Lagoon Tourmaline, Paraíba Tourmaline, Rubellite, Tourmaline, Verdelite, Watermelon Tourmaline | Name the filler (resin, oil, polymer, glass or lead glass) and bear in mind that fillings can be unstable and may deteriorate or change colour over time. LMHC Information Sheet #3 treats corundum with glass in two ways: glass in fissures or cavities is still reported on natural corundum as a filling, and only a badly fractured single piece infused throughout, or small fragments bound together with glass, is reported as a manufactured product. |
| Irradiated | Achroite, Black Tourmaline, Canary Tourmaline, Chrome Tourmaline, Elbaite, Indicolite, Lagoon Tourmaline, Paraíba Tourmaline, Rubellite, Tourmaline, Verdelite, Watermelon Tourmaline | Must be disclosed. Stability under irradiation varies by material: irradiated blue topaz keeps a stable colour and irradiated smoky quartz or coloured diamond can, but in some materials the irradiated colour fades in light or heat; colour stability must be pointed out. |
| Dyed | Achroite, Black Tourmaline, Canary Tourmaline, Chrome Tourmaline, Elbaite, Indicolite, Lagoon Tourmaline, Paraíba Tourmaline, Rubellite, Tourmaline, Verdelite, Watermelon Tourmaline | Must be disclosed. Dye may fade, bleed or dissolve in solvents (alcohol, acetone), and dyed material must not be labelled "natural colour"; dyed jadeite counts as B/C jade and must be conspicuously labelled; dyed agate and chalcedony are extremely common. |
| Coated | Achroite, Black Tourmaline, Canary Tourmaline, Chrome Tourmaline, Elbaite, Indicolite, Lagoon Tourmaline, Paraíba Tourmaline, Rubellite, Tourmaline, Verdelite, Watermelon Tourmaline | Must be disclosed. Coatings may be abraded, flake off or discolour, and coating is not a permanent enhancement; the coating material must be disclosed (e.g. Mystic Topaz is coated topaz), and the treated effect must not be implied to be natural. |
Care codes on member entries
Member entries cite these CIBJO special-care codes: special-care code j, special-care code k. General gem care gives the full wording of every code.
Where members are recorded
Some member entries record the localities where their materials are found; Recorded localities shows them on a sketch map and lists them by continent.
Names
- 简体中文
- 电气石超族与宝石品种
- 繁體中文
- 電氣石超族與寶石品種
- English
- Tourmaline-supergroup minerals and gem varieties
- 日本語
- 電気石スーパーグループ・宝石変種
Authority source
- Authority source
- Review status
- Reviewed against CIBJO, GB/T and IMA boundaries.
Distribution across the other axes
All 13 members share these values:
- Origin class
- Natural materials
- Material domain
- Natural inorganic gem materials
- Mineral chemical class
- Silicates
- Construction or treatment status
- Natural identity; treatment status unknown