Origin-: From the Sinhalese word “Thuramali” or “Thoramalli” applied to different gemstones found in Sri Lanka.

Color-: Most commonly black, but can range from brown, violet, green, pink, or in dual coloured pink and green.

Varieties-:

• Dravite: Dark yellow to brownish black.
• Schorl: Bluish or brownish black to black.
• Rubellite( from Ruby): Red or pinkish-red.
• Brazilian indicolite: Light blue to bluish green.
• Brazilian Emerald: Green.
• Achroite: Colorless.
• Watermelon tourmalines are pink in the centre and green on the rim, or vice-versa.
• Yellow Tourmaline or yellow green is often simply called by its color.

Mohs Hardness-: 7-7.5 with the trigonal crystal structure.

Zodiac Sign-: Libra, Gemini, Virgo, Taurus, Capricorn.

Birthstone-: October.

Luster-: Vitreous.

Occurrence-: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Burma(Myanmar), Srilanka, The United States, and the African countries( Madagascar, Namibia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Nigeria and Malawi).

Metaphysical Properties-:

• Aids in understanding oneself and others.
• It promotes self-confidence and diminishes fear.
• Attracts inspiration, compassion and tolerance and prosperity.
• It balances the right-left sides of the brain.
• Helps treat paranoia, overcomes dyslexia and improve hand-eye coordination.
• Tourmaline releases tension, making it helpful for spinal adjustments.
• It balances male-female energy within the body.
• Enhances energy and removes blockages.

Treatment and Enhancements-:

• Heat treatment can enhance the colour of some Tourmalines.
• Some greenish stones can be made deep green, some brownish-red stones can be made red, and some light pink stones can be made colorless through heating.
• The color of some light color stones can also be made into deeper hue, and dark, transparent dravite can be made lighter.