New Acquisitions - Suite of Tourmalines
- Photography by Ken Larsen. Gift of Arthur Groom, 2003.
The tourmaline family consists of at least 14 distinct minerals, but only one, elbaite, accounts for nearly all of the tourmaline gemstones. Tourmaline gems form in a wide range of colors. Although best known in shades of green and red, elbaite can also be blue, purple, yellow, or colorless. Tourmaline can also show several colors in a single crystal, making it possible to cut unique multicolored gems. The suite of 55 tourmaline gemstones pictured here range in weight from 1.17 to 18.36 carats and exhibit a wide range of colors. These tourmaline gems spectacularly demonstrate the range of colors produced from a single mining region in Nigeria and greatly enhance the National Gem Collection.
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