October Birthstone – Tourmaline

October Birthstone

The October birthstone is actually two birthstones – opal and tourmaline gemstones. While both are beautiful and have unique characteristics, each is drastically different in its composition. The opal is a soft and delicate stone requiring very special care and storage, while the tourmaline is a fairly dense mineral (7 – 7.5 on Mohs hardness scale) making it the ideal stone choice for October birthday and anniversary jewelry.

Like opals, tourmaline jewelry come in a rainbow of colors. In fact, many with their own trade names:

Tourmaline Colors

• Rubellite: Pink, purplish red, orange-red, and red
• Indicolite: are dark violet, blue or greenish blue
• Paraíba Tourmaline, from Paraíba, Brazil, is sought after by jewelers because of their vivid neon blues and greens.

• Chrome refers to an intense green
• Gemologist call tourmaline gemstones that display multiple colors parti-colored tourmaline.
  • A watermelon tourmaline is pink in the center and green around the outsides.

Courtesy of GIA

What determines these color qualities often depends on the chemical composition as tourmalines refer to a group of closely related mineral species versus a singular chemical composition (GIA). For example, traces of iron and titanium can induce green and blue colors and manganese, reds and pinks.

4 – C’s:

That being said, COLOR, is one of the most important characteristics that is sought after in tourmalines. Pink/Red Tourmaline tend to be the most sought after while chrome green can provide a lower cost alternative to tsavorite and emerald gemstones. A pastel green tourmaline can fall between a deep green emerald and a softer peridot, however many of these green tourmalines are pleochroic – meaning they show different colors when viewed at different directions. This quality makes it an interesting jewelry piece.

Gemologist use CLARITY to evaluate a tourmaline gemstone. Due to their liquid rich environments where they grow in, tourmaline will often contain liquid inclusions that resemble a thread-like pattern through the stone. This is generally a nonissue, in fact, “if numerous enough and the rough is correctly cut, they can cause a ‘cat’s-eye’ (effect)” (GIA). Note, you want to avoid surface level inclusions.

CUT, unlike other gemstones, tends to grow in an elongated pattern which allows for far more non-standard sizes to be available. However, there are plenty of standard dimension mountings as well.

CARAT WEIGHT, holding true to every gemstone, this refers to the size of the gem. All other factors held consistent, the larger the carat weight, the more it’ll cost.

Stop by Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers in Whitefish Bay, WI to see our full collection of this beautiful October birthstone. We also have a limited selection available online for your convenience.